Picking up Steam
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: In which Endeavor knows there's something not quite right with Rei, the Todoroki children are optimistic, and Todoroki Rei is trying to figure out the difference between amnesia and waking up in another woman's life. (SI stuffed into Todoroki Rei's body/Todoroki Family Fix-It)
1. Chapter 1

**I**

.

There's something different about the woman.

Todoroki Enji considers the only other presence in the room, taking in the stiff line of her spine, the long hair that resides atop her head now piled up as opposed to cascading down her back. She'd been injured, he recalls, during an attack by one of the recently freed bastards he'd put away years ago. Collateral damage, they'd decided. Villainous scum deserved to rot. She'd done her job though, defended their offspring. Enji hadn't been able to find it in himself to be irritated over the flood damage the house had suffered once he melted the last of her defence.

No, he's getting off point. Rei had taken a knock to the head and it's taken near two weeks for the hospital to discharge her, but she has finally returned home. He's been able to send the hired help away, a handful of paper clutches in one hand with a doctor's scrawling signature upon it.

'Amnesia'. Difficulty in recognising self, others, and simple facts on the world she lives in. When questioned, she hadn't even known what a quirk was. And now, here they stand, residing in the kitchen and with little to no clue how to react. Their marriage has been fraught with tension, quirk-based tension; Rei'd made it clear she'd rather throw herself down the stairs then have another child prior to the incident and that had been what stalled Endeavor. It may have been a quirk marriage, but it is not utterly emotionless. Besides, Shouto's quirk has yet to manifest; there's no need to push for children. Yet.

Rei eyes him over her shoulder, wisps of fine white hair framing the outline of her face. In the morning light that spills in through the window, the tresses are cast a golden shade of pearl. He married her for her genetics, the quirk she carries, not for her appearance. Regardless, she's a soft kind of beauty, an early winter's morning, blankets of untouched snow basking in the rising sun.

"Four children then?" she asks, voice still as quiet as ever, but there's a steady kind of surety behind her words this time. She's been informed of her immediate family by the doctor; it's a clear ploy, encouraging him to talk, to share bits about their life together. The glass surface of their world has been repaired but it's so foggy, so cloudy that Rei cannot see the spiderweb of cracks that stretch from corner to corner, leaving no plane untouched. "Guess we were busy then." She grins and it's like nothing he has seen upon her face before, nothing like her at all (it makes his skin itch, this change).

How is he supposed to answer that question? How is he supposed to address the main strife between them that she so casually refers to? Luckily, it seems this variation of Rei isn't looking for an answer, too busy turning back to the batter of whatever it is she's putting together. Smears of flour kiss up the backs of her hands, whisk clinking against the edges of a jug. The tension that has been so steadily blanketing their house is gone, stripped back and away.

Enji still has no ideas what to say; the silence presides.

.

* * *

.

The husband (Todoroki Enji, his name is Enji and he's a... 'pro-hero') hadn't stayed long after that. She'd kissed him on the cheek as he made for the door, forced to rise onto her tiptoes to press her lips to his face. Even then she'd had to grab a hold of his shirt to halt him (and pull him down slightly but she'll never admit to it).

Now... now she's left alone in a household with four children that are her own (so the doctors say) and memories in her head that are not her own. A side effect from the man who'd attacked her, one had claimed. Giving her false memories of another life and erasing every other memory she has.

Her name is Rei. She's married, has four children and her quirk is something to do with ice. She cannot remember the official name now, does not care to. It's not exactly her biggest problem right now. The current issue is she doesn't know what is real, what is false... doesn't know if she is Rei or not. This body is thirty years old; her mind insists she is twenty-four years old. It's all higgled and piggled. She has four children she cannot remember birthing, cannot remember raising.

She's got to be strong for them. Even if she's different now, even if she can't remember. They are hers. She won't allow them to suffer just because her head isn't on straight (she tries to ignore the question of if it'll ever be on straight).

She's alone in this; a husband whose quirk may be fire but looks upon her with shrewd, cold eyes. Four children, all of whom will undoubtedly be thrown by the woman who wears their mother's face (is she their mother? Is this body hers? She doesn't know, doesn't know).

Rei finishes the first pancake, severing it up onto a plate and she smears jam across the flat surface, just in time for a girl (her daughter, her second eldest) to stumble into the kitchen.

.

Her children have never eaten pancakes before. They look upon the flat, round food as if it were foreign and strange (they are, she guesses, given they're in Japan).

The first to tuck into them is her middle son, Natsuo. He digs in with a gusto, chewing thoroughly and refusing to wait until he's swallowed before grinning at his siblings.

Her youngest, Shouto, is the last. Hesitant and cautious, her dual coloured son (though there's only Touya that has one solid block of hair, the same deep red as his father) grapples with his breakfast, smearing jam all across his plate, hands and cheeks. He's adorable.

They all are.

"Can you really not remember anything?" Touya leaned across the table, a deep scowl on his face. His eyes are a brilliant blue, even brighter than Enji's were. There's a shrewdness to them that shouldn't belong there.

"Touya!"

"It's okay, Chick," Rei murmurs, teaching over to ruffle the girl's hair. Todoroki Fuyumi is an adorable eleven-year-old child, timid and shy. Though not afraid to attempt reeling her brothers in. "Even if I never remember, we can make lots of good memories together, right?" Rei smiles, doing her best to ignore how what should have been a casual gesture pulled at her cheeks. Like it's an unfamiliar motion.

The kids all stare at her, even little Shouto who cannot be older than five. Probably four years old, given his height and weight. A cute little pudge. They all are.

It's Natsuo, the middle boy, who voices his opinion first.

"I like this Mum. She seems brave."

And just what is that supposed to imply?

.

 **II**

.

"You don't seem particularly content with your current life." It's the first sentence that meets Enji's ears as he returns home.

The lights are out, barring the kitchen side lamp, and Rei is half submerged in darkness. He rather suspects the lack of lighting is an attempt to draw his attention away from the ridiculous mess the house is currently accommodating. There are blankets all over the couches in the receiving room with some corners taped to the walls, cushions and pillows piled up in what even Enji can guess is supposed to substitute as a castle. A structurally unstable castle. The hastily made and hazardlessly discarded dragon costume (just the right size for Natsuo, he suspects) only adds further evidence to his suspicions that nothing productive has been undertaken during his three days away.

The scent of herbal tea wafts through the air, steam curling up from the surface of Rei's delicate china cup. The once blank surface of the fridge catches his attention; it's now littered with pictures. Eyeing them on his way past, Enji finds the solid evidence that it was indeed Natsuo who spent who knows how many hours in a ridiculous reptilian costume. Pictures litter the once pristine surface, each one featuring up to five people; Rei and their offspring. They're all grinning like hoodlums, even quiet little Shouto and sickly Touya wear the same matching grins. There's a single photo which features all five of them and a hastily created addition. Carefully drawn on in black and red pen is his own likeness, holding a villain down in a headlock (they'd watched yesterday's news then). It takes him longer than it should have done to realise that it was drawn by Fuyumi's hand. When was it that his only daughter had taken the time to draw something for him, never-mind an actual picture from his hero work?

"Sorry, that was a terribly greeting. Congratulations on completing your job; we all watched the outcome on the news. It's a relief to have you back home though." Rei smiles and it's warm, warmer than what he has come to expect of her in these last few months. It takes him a moment to realise what it is that's throwing him off; she's genuine. She's genuinely pleased to see him return home. A change indeed.

Folding his arms across his chest, Enji leans back against the wall, pushing down the urge to ignite the usual facial flames. He will not be made to feel uncomfortable in his own home. He's adaptable, he'll figure out where he stands with this… strange variation of Rei. It's not an improvement, but it's not a deterioration either. Just new.

"Has anything productive occurred while I was gone." It's not a question, a demand for information actually. From the way Rei's lips thin, she knows it too.

"Well, I got to know my children, we had fun and Shouto mastered that heel spin thing you've been trying to teach him."

"He what?" His youngest had been struggling on that for the past month; admittedly, Enji hadn't exactly been taking his training too seriously. He's three failed children down now (well, two and a half. Touya was almost perfect. Almost) so he's not yet committed Shouto to the training schedule. Not until he knows for sure. He doesn't want to waste his time, not again. Still, what were the possible reasons that Shouto would master that particular move while he wasn't present to check he was completing it right?

"Speaking of our children," Rei muses, bulldozing over his question completely, her face settling into something a little darker, something a tad more serious. "What is going on with Touya." Never, not in the twelve years they have been a legally married couple, has Todoroki Rei ever taken that tone with him. Has never offered up such a demand for information so thinly veiled as a question. It stuns him more than any punch a villain has ever landed.

"What?"

"I, I don't know how to explain it. But he's so much more closed off than the other three and I don't think it's just a thing that comes with being the eldest. He doesn't have as much enjoy as the other three and- I don't know. Is he sick?" Hands folded primly in her lap and with only half of her tea remaining, Rei gives him her full attention. It's not like before, where it had been timid enquiries. No, now there's a steadiness, a surety that no amnesic should possess. The hospital checked, there was no outside influences in her mind, no brainwashing or tampering. Is this the Rei from before they met, from before she was told it'd be a quirk marriage in her future?

"The doctors should have told you."

"They gave me the bare basics about myself, which includes the fact I have four children. What I don't know is why we got married, what each of my children are like, how this family runs; I had no idea that Natsuo hates sweetcorn until yesterday. I've got so much to learn and I just want to do my best with it all." Slamming one closed fist onto her open palm, Rei smiles at him. It reaches her eyes. Enji can't quite remember the last time that happened. Perhaps that what pushes him to admit the simple truths of their lives together.

"We married for our quirks, in order to produce strong offspring to become heroes," the number one hero is what goes unsaid, but that is a can of worms perhaps not best opened right now. "Natsuo and Fuyumi inherited your ice-quirk. Touya has showcased a mutation of my fire quirk, but he also inherited your weak constitution." He was almost perfect. Almost. It'd seemed so promising, a fire quirk stronger than his own. But then, the body had proven ill-equip to handling it.

"So, it's something genetic then," Rei continues, pressing her forefinger and thumb against her jawline, eyebrows slowly knitting together, "what have we tried to overcome it already?" What?

"What?"  
Now she does look at him, an expression on her face that makes Enji instantly bristle. "What have we tried to overcome this genetic weakness? Was there anything even remotely successful? How long has Touya shown an issue with this… We have tried to do something, haven't we?" She speaks of them as if they are a team, as if she had anything to do with Touya's training.

The stillness lingers between them, a stifling silence and Rei's lips press into a firm line. Enji refuses to back down, but he also has little more to say on this topic. Not when Touya has proven a failure with his body, not when Natsuo and Fuyumi cannot even be considered. All of his hopes rest upon the tiny shoulders of Shouto. Shouto who exhibits an equal split of both parents' features. Perhaps fourth time will be the charm.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be upstairs."

.

Rei isn't in their bed when he gets upstairs. It takes him three attempts (not in the bathroom, not in Shouto's room) before he finds her. She's curled up around Touya, his gangly pre-teen arms wrapped loose around her neck, his face half buried in her neck and there's tearstains on his cheeks. Rei, fast asleep as she is, clutches him to her chest as if he's all that's keeping her stable.

Enji goes to bed with a tightness in his chest that wasn't present before.

.

 **III**

.

Shouto watches Mummy with determined eyes. He's never seen her smile so much before. Since she came home from hospital (which he tries not to think too much on; he remembers the attack, remembers Mummy blocking it all with ice but she's hit her head and there'd been so much blood), things have been different. Not a bad different either. He can't remember the last time they had so much fun. Even Touya-nii had enjoyed it and Touya-nii is so much older than Shouto (all his siblings are, even Natsuo is four years older than him and he's determined to make sure Shouto never forgets it) but he'd been laughing too. Shouto can't remember the last time Mummy had picked him up for anything other than a cuddle after Father had snapped. But yesterday, yesterday she'd made him fly, scooped him up under his arms and he'd had so much fun. He knows his quirk won't be anything to do with flying, but in that moment, it'd been fun.

Shuffling out of his bedroom, Shouto sends one considering glance towards the bedroom door Mummy and Father share, lips working into a thin frown. It might be where she is… but Father scares him. Sometimes Mummy is awake, sometimes she's not. The past few days while Father has been away, they'd all slept downstairs on piles and piles of cushions. Shouto had laid with Touya-nii on one side, Mummy on his other. They'd all rested their heads on Mummy's outstretched arms, Fuyumi-nee and Natsuo-nii on the other side of her to what Touya and Shouto had been. It'd been comfortable; Shouto had dropped off almost instantly. Last night had been a little more difficult but Mummy had stayed with him until he fell asleep. He wasn't even upset that he'd been the first to go to bed.

Quietly plodding along across the wooden floor, Shouto peeks into Natsuo's room to find his older brother fast asleep. He's even snoring a little, one leg thrown over the edge of the bed and his face pressing into his pillow. Pushing onwards, Shouto passes Touya-nii's door and then stops. His eldest brother has red hair, red hair like their dad and sorta like Shouto. There shouldn't be any white hair on his bed. Cautious, Shouto pushes the door the rest of the way open to find Mummy asleep in Touya-nii's bed. Which is strange; Touya-nii is a teenager; he's made it clear to Shouto that he doesn't need babying. He's almost an adult after all, which is why Shouto needs to listen to him.

Squinting, Touya edges that little bit closer, shuffling into the room as much as he dared. There's not much in Touya's room, lots of notes from school, lots of books, a few video games and a football.

"Shouto?" Startling, Shouto spins around to face the bed again, finding Mummy with her head half twisted around to stare at him; the whisper had come from her.

"Mummy… why are you in Touya-nii's bed?"

"Touya had a bit of a rough time last night, so I gave him some special Mum hugs. You can never be told old for them, do you hear me, Touya?" There's a low grumble on the other side of Mummy and then Touya's red hair is rising from behind Mummy's shoulder, sleepy blue eyes peering at him. Touya doesn't look good, worse than he normally does. Shouto might be young but even he knows that Touya's not very well, not right now. He hasn't been well for a few years; Shouto can barely remember a time when his eldest brother was as full of energy as Natsuo.

"You know," Mummy continues, rolling until she's on her back, Touya still curled up against one side, "I think he might need some special little brother hugs too."

"Wait-"

Shouto's not too sure what else Touya-nii was going to say because he's too busy climbing up onto the bed, clambering over Mummy in a wobbly motion to bury his way between the two of them. He wraps his arms around as much of Touya's chest as he can manage. It's strange; right left arm feels fine, but his right arm feels cold because Touya-nii's body is very hot against him.

"Is this good enough?" Shouto asks, peering at Touya-nii's face. His cheeks are a little red, his lips pressed in a funny hard line but it's not like Father's. Both their eyes are blue but Touya's are warm. Pleased. They're happy.

"Let's make doubly sure, Mum and Son combo hug attack!" Mummy announces before wrapping her arms around both of them and reeling them in. Shouto giggles as he's pressed between her chest and Touya's. Touya who doesn't huff but instead rolls until his arms around wrapped around them too.

Shouto can't remember the last time his brother hugged him and tried to hide a laugh in his chest like that.

.

The three of them go downstairs together. Mummy made sure to check on Fuyumi and Natsuo but they had both been fast asleep. Shouto clings to Mummy's front like a little monkey, one of her arms wrapped under his tush to keep his steady. Her other arm is tucked under one of Touya-nii's legs; he's getting a piggyback downstairs, his head resting lazily on Mummy's shoulder. Shouto hopes he gets better soon, he doesn't like how sluggish Touya is, not when he'd seen how much fun he could have with his big brother yesterday. And that'd been when Touya wasn't in tip-top condition. Surely he'll be ever better when he's all better, won't he?

Shouto lets Mummy put him down in his usual chair, the cushion on the seat letting him sit high enough that he can each everything he needs to on the table. Touya slides down off of Mummy's back and climbs up into his own chair, resting his arms upon the table and using them to pillow his head. There's food on the table, food Mummy hasn't cooked. Father ordered in again? Shouto eyes the food before his eyes slowly trail over the room, landing on the door to Father' office. He's stood there, arms folded across his chest but there's no hero costume, no fire on his face. He's wearing a shirt but it's the same colour as his hero costume. Shouto returns his eyes to his meal, back stiffening. He doesn't… he doesn't feel comfortable around Father. Especially not when he sees how the man treats Touya-nii, Natsuo and Fuyumi.

"Eat. We have a doctor's appointment in an hour."

"Doctor's appointment?" Mummy parrots, putting the plate she'd ben loading up with food down in front of Shouto. There's soba on his plate, alongside a poached egg. Mummy might have forgotten everything, but she learns quick. She's remembered his favourite food and he told her three days ago. "I thought I was done with those, barring the monthly check-ups."

"You are. It's for Touya." At that, Touya-nii freezes, the grilled fish half-way between the table and his mouth. Shouto blinks, considering Father's words before he nods. It makes sense; Touya-nii is sick, has been sick for a while. He probably should have gone to the doctor's before. Shouto can't remember him every going, though he does remember a funny man in a white coat coming around once; even then, he only remembers him because Mummy had kept them all far away from the man.

"I thought I was a hopeless case," Touya mutters and it's… cold. Like the ice Fuyumi-nee can make, only it's in Touya's voice. Touya-nii doesn't make ice, he makes fire, fire that's even hotter than Father's. He doesn't do it very often though, not anymore. "I thought there was no point in continuing to waste time with a failure."

"A fai-" Mummy stops halfway through, grey eyes suddenly locked on Father with a scowl on her face. She's still not sitting down at the table, rounding it to rest one of her small, thin hands on Touya's shoulder. She says, as if this is a fact and not a request, "we will be talking about this." And Father actually nods, actually considers Mummy instead of just scoffing and sending her away.

Shouto's not sure what's changed, not sure what is going on. And he's not sure if he likes it or not. All he knows is Mummy's back from the hospital and she's bright, so much brighter than he can recall her ever being. And that, he likes.

.

* * *

 **Just a collection of drabbles based around an idea really.**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**IV**

.

Slouching in his chair, Touya eyes the door to the doctor's office warily. The last time he'd seen a professional about this issue, they'd scoffed and then Father had set him aside. Just like Natsuo and Fuyumi. It'd just taken Father longer to realise that Touya was another failure. Gritting his teeth, Touya presses his face against Mum's shoulder, letting himself sink into the cool half-embrace she's got him in. Three weeks ago, he'd been under the impression he was told old for mothering. A teenager didn't need cuddling didn't need his mother running after her. Especially with how much she's got on her plate already. Only, after the attack, Mum's come back different. A good kind of different. In all his life, Touya cannot remember her ever being so, proactive. It's the only way to describe it. She'd taken Father to task. It's clear by their presence here, in this private hospital where people are side-eyeing them (Father) as if trying to figure out where they should recognise them from. It's father they should recognise but without the flaming beard, moustache and mask, it's not so easy to identify him. Touya's thankful for that, even if he's pretty sure it's Father doing his best to not be associated with a failure for a child.

"It'll be okay, Touya," Mum declares, catching his nose between her forefinger and thumb and giving it a gentle wiggle. She's so strange now. Soft still, gentle, but it's the kind of gentle a tapestry hanging over a steel wall has. Pretty to look at, informative, but try to push past and you'll get nowhere. "No matter what they say, we'll find a way. That's what determined parents do for their precious children." There is one issue with Mum losing her memories; she has no recollection of what Father's really like. Doesn't remember all his standoff behaviour, his cutting words and his treatment of her. Of them. Shooting a glare at the man from beneath his eyelashes, Touya notes Father seems just as startled by Mum's words. He's looking at her… like he doesn't know who she is. He doesn't. This is a different Mum, one who seems determined to fight not just Shouto's corner, but his too. Before, before she'd just been relieved that Father had set him aside, removed his dangerous attention from him. Then she'd gone on to protect Shouto. Touya had completely understood; his baby brother was the last one left that hadn't been truly damaged by Father in some way. He was the one that needed protecting. It's just that Touya hadn't realised how much he needed help until Mum had climbed into bed with him last night and held him as he cried. He feels better for it, but god, it was embarrassing. His cheeks flush, a scowl across his lips.

"I'll work on it," Father states lowly and Touya goes tense. At least, until Mum runs one of her deliciously cool hands through his hair, smoothing the strands down.

"We'll work on it," she corrects, tipping Touya's head up so he has to look her in those grey eyes. He didn't get much from Mum, a bit of her delicate bone structure, her height (it seems, he's still holding out hope he'll catch up to Natsuo and hopefully overtaken Fuyumi too; he's the oldest and he's supposed to be the tallest, isn't he?) and her constitution. That last one is the main issue, it's why he's here (it's why Father discarded him in the end). "We'll always work on it, Touya. Parents never give up on their children and I know I'm a little different right now, but I promise you, I'll always be there when you need me." Mum smiles and his breath catches in Touya's throat. That's… that's comforting to know.

"Todoroki Touya next please."

.

The doctor doesn't tell him anything new, just things that he (that Father) already know. It's all new information to Mum though, given her knock to the head; she asks for a copy of his information, makes her own notes, scribbles in the columns, asks questions. His favourite one is, "how can I help him with this?" Even as the doctor had ummed and ahhed, had muttered what the one before him had said. That sometimes people are just born with quirks incompatible to their body. Mum's follow up question of, "yes, but I'm asking how we can work around that," even had Father snapping to attention. There's a lot of discussion after that, some calls to specialists, more discussion, more calls. Eventually, they leave the building with several different numbers to ring, Mum has a list of different places to visit (a range of medical specialists to specialist quirk support creators), and Touya has a small bottle full of vitamin pills. They're booked in for another appointment and though there's no permanent fix… the doctor had been optimistic. Not like the other one, the one that came to the house. Father has been silent since they left the building, his face dark and considering. It's not the same face as before, back when it was disappointment whenever his skin smoked and burnt, whenever blue flames would climb higher and higher as he scrambled for an ounce of control.

"So, control is an issue," Mum muses, climbing into the back of the car with him as Father slides into the driver's seat. He looks perturbed by the fact Mum has ditched him to slum it in the backseat with him. Touya snuggles that little bit more into her side. "We'll work on that together. I can't recall how to use my own quirk, so that'll be our mother-son bonding activity, okay, sweetheart?" She captures his nose between forefinger and thumb and Touya huffs, ensuring the hot steam of his breath whips up and across Mum's cool fingers. She laughs, blowing a breath over his own cheeks but her control is as bad as can be; the only reason it's cold against his skin is because he's got a fire quirk.

"Just… just me and you?" No Father? He doesn't voice the last bit and he's not too sure if Mum catches it, but Father certainly does. Burning blue eyes, the same eyes he sees in the mirror every night, meet his own through the car mirror. Touya holds his gaze, daring him to say anything. Father's cornered on that; if he insists on joining in, it'll be like admitting he was wrong to discard Touya. If he doesn't insist, then Touya wins and gets time with Mum to focus on the quirk Father had thrown him away for, declaring him useless. It's win-win either way for Touya; he's never been in that position before.

"Just the two of us for the start, though it'll probably be a good idea to have Fuyumi nearby, so she can use her ice to put out any fires until I get good." Mum grins, wide and proud and so full of hope and Touya (despite the black moods he's begun to favour these past few months) slowly mirrors it.

.

 **V**

.

"What are you doing." Meeting her husband's gaze (he's tall, she has to angle her head up to look him in the eye, especially with how close she's gotten to him), Rei cocks her hip out to one side and offers up a hand. The music is still thrumming away in the background; the children are all off at their lessons (private tutors which had been a bit of a shock at first but Enji rakes in the money apparently) and that gives her the perfect chance.

"Well I was waiting for you to show up," Rei counters, offering Enji (a Pro Hero, the Number Two Hero, her husband) a smile, "and now I'm asking you to dance."

He looks at her like she's crazy. Rei doesn't feel crazy, but she sure as hell doesn't feel comfortable. It's easier with the children; children she knows how to handle. Treat them with respect, love them and that's it. She cannot do anything wrong as long as she tries her best with them, tries her hardest to make sure they are healthy, happy and stable. It's shown; this past week the hugs have increased in frequency, on the days Enji is gone in the morning she always wakes up to find one of the children (usual Shouto or Natsuo) have snuck into her bed. Touya sits calmly with her as they slowly work through using their respective quirks (and she's taken to bringing a bowl of water with them now when she spotted Touya's skin starting to smoke), Fuyumi watching in the distance. Once they've spent some time on that, Rei will draw with her artistic daughter, eager to listen to what stories her brilliant mind has come up with throughout the day. She's baked with Natsuo and Shouto. They've only done it twice now but they both enjoyed it. It's something she plans to build into the daily routine. No, the children she knows how to handle. It's the distant, cold husband that poses the issue. They have a history and, from what she's been able to sense so far, their marriage hasn't been a… happy one. It's sad. Rei (if she really is Rei, there's memories that tell her otherwise) can picture the perfect family; the husband's attitude doesn't bother her in those daydreams, it's the trust and emotions between them that she wants. It might have been a bad match (on everything but the genetic front) but Rei will make the best of it. She will. Which means putting in an effort. She doesn't know this man, doesn't know who Todoroki Enji is. But she is determined to learn. Who knows, maybe he is a man that she can fall in love with. Maybe he's just a man she can strike up a trust with, so that they can stay together in order to ensure their children grow up strong, stable and safe. Rei knows what she wants, however, she won't settle for any less without trying her damn hardest.

"Dancing," Enji scoffs, though he doesn't tear his hands out from hers when she catches them in her grasp. Rei grins, taking a step back and then one forwards, bopping her head to the music, shaking her hips as she goes. The music, the first track with a beat she's found on the radio, picks up and Rei follows the tune.

"Come on, if you can fight you have to move. If you can move, you can dance. Unless you're embarrassed?" It's the first time she's dared to tease him, testing the waters as it were. From the looks on Enji face, it's not something the old Rei had ever dared to do. Brave new frontier; everything about life is new, or so it seems. Rei tugs once more on Enji's hand and feels her whole chest light up when there's actually a little give.

.

* * *

.

"Fuyumi, wha-"

"Ssshhhh!" Touya, her delightful older brother who can actually read the mood, slams a hand over Natsuo's mouth before he can ruin everything and both boys slowly edge over to join her. She's sitting at the top of the landing, peering down between the railings with wide eyes at the scene behind her. The music is not like the piece she'd heard before (the type of music she'd never have expected to hear in their household), it's more traditional now. But, but it's what's happening to the music that she's so invested in.

"Are, are they dancing?" Touya whispers, his ridiculously hot face suddenly pressed cheek to cheek with her own. Fuyumi hums, not daring to breathe, almost as if such an action would shatter the fragile peace that has descended on the living-room. She never wants this moment to end. Hopefully they'll be able to collar Shouto when he finishes up with his lessons to. Her heart is beating in her chest, warm and full.

Below, in the strip of living-room that can be seen through the open hallway door, Mum and Dad are swaying back and forth to the music. Dad's hands are on Mum's hips and her hands fall just short of resting on his shoulders, palms half pressed against his chest. But… but they're in the same room and they're not fighting, Mum's not crying and Dad's not shouting. They look… Happy.

"How long has this been going on?" Touya asks, cautiously peeling his hand back and away from Natsuo's mouth. Her younger brother seems to understand just how very important it is to not interrupt right now, chewing on his lip instead as he stares. As they all stare, really.

"I've been here for two minutes. But I heard the music ten minutes ago."

"It's… I've never seen them like this." Like they were actually… something other than two people who hate each other. Fuyumi had always wondered how her parents could have possibly had Touya, never mind three other children. She's not stupid, she knows things aren't quite right in their house. Maybe Touya (older and wiser than her) knows; if he does, he's never shared. Fuyumi hasn't the guts to ask. Not when it had been Touya who was at the epicentre of Dad's burning focus. It hadn't felt right to ask then and now, she daren't not now.

"…do you think they're gonna have another baby?" Natsuo questions and Fuyumi cringes. Out of all of them, it'd only be her who'd heard Mum's threat from before the incident. While she doesn't think Mum would actually do it… she had still laid awake in the middle of the night, terrified. Not that she'll ever let Mum know that.

"No, I don't think so… But it wouldn't be so bad to have another little sibling. Shouto's starting to lose that cute appeal of his." He's not, in the slightest. But Natsuo grins anyway.

The music dies slowly, replaced by the radio host's voice. Mum and Dad stop moving, looking at one another. Dad looks… Well, not angry? It's a weird look, kinda like he doesn't know what to do with Mum, or if he should be annoyed or impressed. Mum, well, Mum just grins and leans up on her tiptoes. She pecks Dad on the lips, bouncing back down and declaring she's going to go find her children and they should do that again some time.

Fuyumi can't remember the last time they kissed.

She can't remember if Dad had ever looked after Mum with an expression like that on his face.

.

 **VI**

.

"That's fantastic, Shouto!" Hefting him into her arms, Mummy spins, holding him high and proud. A flame licking at one cheek and ice closing in over the other, Shouto stares at her with his mismatched eyes before a huge grin spread across his face.

"It's strange is what it is," Touya-nii murmurs as he gets up to leave, squinting at them with bright blue eyes. Shouto's pretty sure they're even brighter than Father's eyes. Father who is staring at them from the other side of the kitchen.

Things go downhill from there.

"Excuse me." Mummy's voice cuts through the air, it burns like only ice can, shockingly sharp, biting. Shouto, his arm still held within Father's hand (his grip is looser now, his attention focused on Mummy), turns to look at her. She's mad, her face is hard and her arms are folded. If that look was directed at him, Shouto would probably be crying. But no, Mummy has nothing but smiles and sweet words for him. This is for Father. "I must have misheard because I'm sure you just said that Shouto, a five-year-old child, won't have time for playing with his brothers and sister anymore."

"Rei-"

"Shouto." She cuts him off. Nobody ever cuts Father off when he's speaking but Mummy does. Even when flames pour out and coil down Father's jaw, Mummy doesn't flinch in the slightest. She steps forwards and Shouto keeps his eyes on the trail of frosted footsteps she leaves upon the wooden floorboards, right up until she's standing right beside him. Then she's at his level, legs bent as her cold fingers pry his arm from Father's grip.

Father allows it, but only after a moment of tense silence.

"Sweetheart, go find Touya. Ask him about his day, please? He's told me he's fine but he's also a very quiet boy and I'm a little worried. I think he'll talk to you more than he will me. Can I trust you with this?" Near hypnotised, Shouto nods, a steely determination overcoming his face. Touya-nii was very quiet this morning and before Mummy's memories were knocked out of her head, he was sad. Not all the time but even Shouto could notice it. Now, now Shouto can see the sadness is still there but Mummy beats it back. He can help too, he remembers. That's what he'd done with Mummy that morning when he'd found her cuddling Touya in his bed. If she could manage it on her own... well, it'll be no Mummy and Son combo attack, but Shouto knows he can beat back Touya's sadness.

"Okay. I'll make Touya-nii happy again. I promise." And Mummy smiles again. It's warm, like hot chocolate in winter, like one of her hugs. He feels like he could do anything, like he could save a thousand people, just like All Might did.

"I know I can count on you, Shouto. Go be Touya-nii's hero." That he can do. Nodding again, Shouto allows Mummy to press a sloppy kiss to his forehead before he goes racing off, barely registering the low voice Mummy uses to speak with Father. No, he's got Touya-nii to look after. The twinge of pain in his forearm is all but forgotten in the wake of that.

.

He doesn't get much talking done with Touya-nii, it ends up with him sitting in his big brother's lap, listening to his calm voice read Natsuo's 'Top Hundred Heroes of the Century' book. Mummy appears after a while (Shouto can't remember how long it's been) but she's bubbling with excitement. It spreads to him easy enough, like jam on toast. After all, he's never been to a water park before. He almost feels bad that Father has been called in for hero work because he's gonna miss the fun.

A twinge in his arm and Shouto pouts.

Almost.

* * *

"Why are we really here?"

His younger siblings are asleep, Touya's made sure of that. they're all in one hotel room, two queen-sized beds occupy a great deal of the space; Shouto and Fuyumi and Natsuo are all out cold under the covers. That's where Touya had been, faking sleep until Mum had well and truly believed them all down for the count. Then she'd drawn a notebook and pen from a small compartment in the suitcase and began writing. He'd waited, just to make sure this wasn't another riser before announcing himself.

He's startled Mum, the much is clear given how she half jumps out of her chair. There's still a towel on her head, one thin tendril of half-dried hair having escaped from beneath the hem of that makeshift turban. Touya slinks out of bed and makes his way over. He's got a feeling on what might have happened, solely based on what he'd managed to expertly wheedle out of Shouto. All without making his baby brother really think on what had happened because doing that would be cruel. Kid's had enough scares for the day.

But Touya is thirteen, he's getting dangerously close to having to think about high-school (to chase a pro-hero dream with his faulty quirk or to not, that is the question) and he's not stupid. The truth he hadn't quite known how to vocalise has dropped.

"You are such a perceptive boy, Touya. It's a good thing you're the eldest." Touya hums at the evasive answer, stepping forwards into her embrace and allowing himself to be dragged up and seated on her lap. He's still smaller than Natsuo (who is unusually larger for a nine-year-old and Touya will not be told otherwise), so he fits comfortably on Mum's legs. He wraps his arms around her waist as she holds him, burying her face into his hair and just breathing. As if he's the only thing that keeps her grounded, as if she'll lose all connection with the world without him.

"Mum. Please, I..." he wants to help. He wants to scream. He wants to push Mum until she agrees to take them all and run away, never looking back. He wants that hazy recollection of faint togetherness he remembers from his developmental years, back before his (insufficient, useless) quirk and come in.

"We are here, Touya, because I had some very strong words with your father," Mum finally admits, pressing a gentle kiss to his temple, hands running up and down his back in soothing, shallow motions. Touya clings to her waist that little bit more. "I've made in explicitly clear that he needs to pick up his act. Not just for the safety and well-being of his children -though I have made it very clear I won't let him anywhere near you until things are better- but for himself as well. I've made it very clear that by pushing his goals onto your shoulders, he's decided he'll never get any better and that he's quitting." It's a collective 'your' that Mum uses, talking not just about him but his siblings as well. About Fuyumi and Natsuo and Shouto. It's probably mainly about Shouto though, given the quirk he'd exhibited today.

"That's the summary of it, but it was a very long talk and I am glossing over some things. I'd never lie to you, Touya. But please, let me protect you from this. For now. I promise I will keep you informed on everything. But I need you to keep your siblings safe. Even if that means distracting them while I sort things out."

"I can do that," Touya agrees, barely able to believe his ears. Mum... Mum is taking father to task over his behaviour. She's putting her foot down and instead of begging him to stop as she once did... she's pointing out the flaws. She's removed them from the situation. Touya has no idea how these things should go, but he knows being out of there is better for them right now than anything else. He... he has to trust in Mum.

.

Time passes. It could be hours, it could be minutes. All Touya knows is that Mum clearly thinks he's asleep. She scoops him up, carrying him over to the bed that his brothers are sleeping in and she tucks him in, smoothing back the hair that lays across his forehead.

"Why didn't you tell me, Darling?" And when she asks her voice is sad. Touya swallows back the burning liquid lump in his throat. Because how are you supposed to tell a person something like that? How are you supposed to expose the kind of situation a person is living in when they're ignorant to how very not right it is? Touya doesn't know, but he's starting to get the feeling that there is no right answer to this problem.

.

* * *

 **More drabble-chapters. Stuff gets addressed next chapter, when I get it written I guess.**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**VII**

.

 _"-children so that you could push them to be heroes?!"_

 _"A child with the perfect quirk, capable of besting All Might-"_

 _"What if they don't want to be heroes?! You are pushing your ambitions on them; I know I don't have a lot of memoires, but I never took you for a quitter."_

 _Silence._

 _"I don't know how things were ran before I lost my memories. All I have is those children and you better believe I'll fight tooth and nail to make sure they're safe. Safe and happy. You need to have a fucking good think about things while we're gone."_

What tentative peace they had before is gone. It seems like a lifetime ago when they had danced in the living room. A big, ugly monster resides between them and while Rei can offer guidance, it is up to Enji to decide if he will beat it back or not. To decide if he will defeat it once and for all. She had managed to shock him into inaction with cold, hard truths. If she can light a fire under his ass, well, that's a different kettle of fish altogether.

The meeting with her mother had been awkward; a traditional woman who cannot quite understand why Rei needs her to play at being the supervising adult while she leaves her children unattended. Touya doesn't like her mother, doesn't like his grandmother. His soft-spoken words in the morning as her youngest three had distracted themselves with breakfast ring in her head. ' _They sold you_ '. It's a chilling thought.

Sitting in a teahouse's private room, Rei considers the man sitting across from her, hands curled around a porcelain cup that she's yet to drink from. Todoroki Enji isn't the classically handsome man, not for Japanese standards. His hair isn't dark, his appearance isn't refined. There's a slight dusting of stubble along a hard jawline, hair a vibrant red that clashes against his pale skin. He's not calm, he's not composed; Rei'd be fine with that. But she sure as hell won't live under a dictatorship. Lifting the cup to her mouth, she takes a shallow, slow sip, meeting Enji gaze over the brim. He's not touched his own drink (coffee, white with a single cube of sugar) but it still steams as if it were freshly poured.

"Was there ever anything between us other than an… arranged marriage?"

"Quirk marriage," he corrects, jaw a hard line, the muscles in his neck clearly defined. Rei hums, pressing her lips together at the evasive answer.

"Maybe I'm being stupid, but I don't what this to be a business agreement, which clearly it was between our families. It might be idealistic, but I want an actual family. That's not possible when our children are scared of you. Not one of them refers to you as Dad, have you noticed that? Even Shouto and he's only five years old! I think you've got some issues to work through yourself instead of vicariously through the kids."

They lapse into silence again, Rei chugging down the last of her tea as her stomach churns. What is there to say? She doesn't know Enji, doesn't know what he was like before. She has no idea why she would stay when it all seems so horribly wrong. Maybe she'd been in love with him. Maybe he'd been far more controlling than what she's witnessed so far. Maybe it'd been something else. Rei cannot say for certain. All she knows is that when he'd grabbed hold of Shouto's arm, when he'd said those ten words (" _You won't have time for playing with your siblings anymore_ "), it'd been like a strike of lightning.

"There's nothing wrong with wanting the best for your children," Rei starts quietly, meeting Enji's eyes across the table, a spoon balanced delicately between her thumb and forefinger. She drags it through the dregs of her tea, the little droplets of water that're left with a little too much tea in them to stomach. "But pushing them like you did Shouto the other day, suddenly setting all these boundaries and limitations? That's not okay. I understand you're the breadwinner of the household and that you have high expectations for them. But the manner that you conducted yourself in…" was horrible. Rei doesn't say it aloud, doesn't have to. Enji meets her gaze evenly, a firm pressure to his lips that has his mouth pulling into a taunt, tight line.

"I was wrong," Enji states, slowly carefully, as if tasting the words upon his mouth, like he has never before wrapped his tongue around them. Rei hums, sitting back and the silence descends once again.

.

* * *

.

 _"You're supposed to be some kind of Por-Hero, aren't you? What the hell is heroic about terrifying a child?!"_

 _"-pushing your ambitions on another person is you all but admitting you're not enough."_

 _"I was wrong. I am sorry."_

 _"It's not me and my lost memories you need to be apologising to."_

Rei leaves after extracting a promise that he will seek some form of help. She plans to return to the house tomorrow with the children. Enji… Enji won't be there to see them come back. Slouching into his chair at the office, he presses a forefinger and thumb to his forehead, ignoring the concerned looks as Hitomi sends his way as she passes by. It is… difficult. Reflecting that is. He's flicked through past files the office houses on the system, looking at the abuse cases that have been logged and completed. He has, admittedly, solved very little of those. Most are done by the sidekicks as they rotate in and out, between finding their feet after high school and leaving to form their own offices. There are some that stay full-time (such as Hitomi), but the point that they have more experience with this than he stands. He has no plan to ask them about it, but reading the notes is… enlightening. For so many years he has strove to be the strongest, to be the best. To surpass All Might as the greatest hero.

' _Admitting you're not good enough_ '. Rei's words echo. Fingers tightening into a fist, Enji forcibly extinguishes the flames that're licking at his cheeks, suffocating them. Out of all that she had said, that one had stung the most. The implication that he alone would not be enough to surpass All Might, that the children are not an extension of himself but as their own persons. He can think in circles but it all comes back to one key point. His ambition, the one thing that drives him forwards, has always done so throughout his life.

Laying the blame of all his issues at All Might's feet goes against everything within him; that bastard does not have such a death grip on the world that he's the centre of all Enji's problems. No, the issue here is Enji himself. And admitting that is the first step to overcoming it. He is a Pro-Hero, he knows the definitions of key words that orbit his work. Abuse is one of them. Prior to this, it has never clicked that his homelife could so easily fall beneath this label.

Working a hand through his hair, Enji exhales, short, sharp and sober. Rei's handwriting (even that has changed) is scrawled across the paper, but that's it. She's not demanded he talk to someone, not demanded he fix his mindset.

But she has made it clear if he continues, she will fight him every step of the way. Before he would have scoffed. Witnessing her take the doctors to task over their inefficiency regarding Touya… well, that had made it clear that she'll push for options outside of her current set. That such a thing is making him hesitate with his previous action plan of pushing forwards regardless is what has slammed on the breaks. If even he has paused to think, then clearly something is not quite right.

Just like dealing with an issue while working as Endeavor; the first step is admitting there's a problem. If it's a quirk related problem, he can adapt, can overcome it. Same for physical fitness. He is a good hero, the second best, right after All Might. Someday he will be the Number One Hero, he feels that in his bones. And…

Enji considers the number once more before scrunching it up and throwing it in the bin. He can do his own damn research, can tackle the task himself. He can find his own god damn help. Yes, the first step is admitting there's a problem. The second is creating a battle plan to deal with it. He's adaptive, he's Endeavor. He's also the father of four children and if he doesn't half-ass hero work, it's about damn time he starts putting in the effort as a parent too.

.

 **VIII**

.

"Sooo…. Father's not coming home?" Natsuo squints at Mum as he asks the question, eyeing the expanse of hallway. Expecting Father to just pop up out of nowhere; it wouldn't be the first time he's ruined a supposedly father-free-day by doing that.

"He's busy filming for his future self-improvement montage," Touya-nii declares, dropping the handle of the suitcase. It hits the wooden floors with a solid thump. In Mum's arms, Shouto whines in his sleep but doesn't awaken. Natsuo's eyebrows near collide above his brow as he tries to figure out Touya's words. What's a 'montage' anyway?

"We'll talk about your father once we've settled back in." Mum decides, swatting Touya-nii over the back of his head. It's a gentle move and she makes sure to dig her fingers into the shock red of his hair, rubbing at the thick skull Natsuo knows resides beneath. His big brother (who isn't actually that big but Natsuo doesn't point that out anymore, not now that he understands Touya-nii is sick and that's why he's smaller than he should be) growls, waving his hands in Mum's general direction to get her to leave him alone. Fuyumi watches the two of them quietly, a small smile on her face. It's bee a while since they've been this… calm. Yeah, that's the word for it. Calm. Back before Mum got injured defending them, back before that… Things hadn't been right. He can remember Mum crying, a strange air that'd filled the house whenever mum and Father had been in the same room for too long. That atmosphere had lingered too heavily around Shouto and that'd just made Mum even jumpier.

"Well, go settle in then, twerp." Touya-nii cuffs him over the back of his head and Natsuo scoffs, smacking his elder brother's hand away (he'd never really noticed how thin his wrists were, how delicate his fingers are). He doesn't fight though. Natsuo might not be Touya-nii who can sit back and watch, who can read the air and know where the invisible landmines are that can be set off with the wrong word. But he can see that his big brother wants to talk to Mum, has something he wants to say. Something that can't be said with them here. He's not pleased about being left out of it but… but things are starting to get better. Were starting to get better. Though if Father's not home, Natsuo's not sure how it can keep getting better. But he does know that it can't get any worse. It's strange, it's been strange since Mum woke up. It's not a bad strange though. He clings to that thought as much as he clings to the suitcase handle.

.

* * *

.

It's lucky, really, that she has such a responsible son, that her eldest child is in his teens (even if only dipping his toe in) and not his preteens. She'd never have dared leave a pre-teen in charge, but Touya seems like he could keep a lid of things for a few hours. Her precious eldest child; she'll never get back her past memories, Rei's pretty sure of that. But she's got some wonderful ones of her children already. She fully intends to keep making them, intends for her children to be nothing short of the happiest little bundles of sunshine in each and every one. She doesn't know how she (the Rei of before) felt about children… but this Rei, well she's of the opinion that you don't have kids unless you're willing to make them the centre of your world. They're little humans completely reliant on her; she will give them nothing but the best. If that means taking Enji to task over this murky shadow that lurks over the household, then so be it. If it means digging into that shadow with an industrial powered torch, then she's got batteries at the ready.

It's why she's currently digging through the loft, looking for anything and everything that she can use to piece together the life of before. There's a handful of photos from her childhood (she looks happy enough, surrounded by a traditional family in a traditional house), but there's more of photos of her current family. Touya's baby-photos; Fuyumi's and Natsuo's and Shouto's. They're adorable chunky things, each and every one of them, and it pains her to realise she can't remember them, can't remember holding them to her chest for the first time, can't remember what their first word is. That's, that's painful.

The next set of photos she finds are of her wedding day. The kimono is breath-taking; it highlights the beauty she possesses in the prime of her life. Not that Rei isn't feeling fabulous right now, but there's a difference between the beauty one has as the mother of four and the beauty of a fresh-faced young woman. God, was she even twenty when she got married? No, she can't have been, not if Touya was born legitimate. Her phone buzzes and Rei pauses, looking over at the device she'd left out on the floorboards. She cannot hear world war three going off downstairs, so it can't be Touya desperately calling for assistance. Shuffling over, she unlocks the screen. Peers at the message.

It's from Enji, a simplistic ' _will be unavailable on Wednesday, 10-12. Meeting with Dr. Hikori_ '. A quick google search lets her know exactly what Dr. Hikori specialises in. Then, then Rei is left dithering, wondering just how she should go about replying. Her teeth scrap at her lip, her finger drums against the phone's side.

' _You're unavailable Thursdays, 7pm-8pm. That's our catch-up time._ ' It's brash, it's bold. She has no idea what her relationship with Enji was like. No idea if it ever went beyond a cold distance, if there was genuine abuse or not (there'd not been any bruises on her body when she woke up, just the wound from the villain attack, she'd checked the doctor's notes). This man, her husband, is supposed to be a pro-hero. Supposed to be one of the good guys. He's trying; she's got to make sure he stays on the right path, that he genuinely is getting his shit together. She will not risk her children by getting the wool pulled over her eyes. Which means she needs to see this stranger she once lived with, this stranger she's legally married to and one that she'd tried reaching out to (she's not sure if it worked or not, things had suddenly blown up before it could settle). This isn't just about her. It's about her and him and, most importantly of all, the children that are relying on her. She won't let them down; if Enji can get it together then they can hopefully start playing happy families. If not… well, she'll cross that bridge when he gets there.

.

 **IX**

.

Shouto looks to the door, one hand still half curled around an apple slice. Father does not pass through the doorway. Just as it has been for thirteen days, just as it seems it will continue. His eyes slide back over to Mummy, watching and waiting. Her long white hair is woven back, trailing down the centre of her back like a second spine. Flour is peppered up her hands, dough being worked between her fingers. Shouto watches the motion, well aware cookies will soon be gracing the table. He just has to wait for them to go in the oven. Touya-nii would probably like a cookie once he's some with his lessons. So would Fuyumi and Natsuo. Shouto's just glad he's only five and doesn't have any lessons on a Friday. That means he has first access to the cookies. Once he's finished his apple, that is. Father had always insisted upon healthy food, Mummy's the same now. An apple a day keeps the doctor away. That's what she'd said. Shouto's not quite sure why he needs to keep the doctors away from him when their job is to help people. He'd still nodded and eaten half his apple already. Maybe Touya-nii hadn't eaten enough apples when he was little and that's why he has to go to the doctor's now? The apple crunches between his teeth, crisp and sweet. Mummy cuts the dough into shapes, little flames and snowflakes. They never look like that when they get out of the oven; Shouto's not too sure why. Maybe Fuyumi-nee will know; she's smart.

Still, Fridays are weird now. This is the second one without Father. He's still looking for the man out of the corner of his eye. Forty minutes later, when the cookies are cooling and Shouto has a mouthful of warm, sticky biscuit, Touya-nii comes tumbling into the kitchen with a huff. The skin around his jaw looks red, like he's scratched it a bit too much. Maybe he needs to go to the doctor's again? Shouto knows that Mummy and Father took him before Father decided to disappear. Worrying his lip back and forth between his teeth, Shouto chews that little bit more on his cookie, watching Touya-nii kiss Mummy on the cheek before he snatches up a warm biscuit for himself.

"Where's Father?" Shouto asks before he can really think about it; he wishes he could stuff the words back in. He might only be five years old, but he's well aware that Touya-nii and Father… don't get on. For all that they both have fire quirks, there's always a bad feeling when the two of them are in the same room. It's not been quite the same since Mummy came home from the hospital and forgot them, but… it's not left. Not like Father has now.

Mummy hums, gliding around the table to scoop Shouto up and out of his seat. He takes the moment to bury his face into her neck, inhaling the smell there. She might have come back from the doctors different, but the smell is the same. Mummy smells clean, always has and always will. Clean and warm, if 'warm' can be a smell. Shouto decides that it can be.

"Dad is on an important journey. It's not one where his body moves, but his mind is travelling instead. He's on a quest to learn to be a better dad." What? Shouto knows what the word quest means, he knows because Mummy had used the word when they had played princess and knights. Only, Natsuo had been the dragon, Fuyumi had been the knight and Touya had been the prince. Shouto's pretty sure that Touya had been the princess, even though he'd insisted princes were boy princesses. Shouto's not too sure. Isn't it only princesses that need saving? But then, Mummy is as pretty as a princess and she hadn't needed saving that day. She'd done the saving. Maybe Mummy's a knight? No, he's not focused. Shouto wants answers.

"A better dad?" He's not too sure how he feels about that word. Dad. Father is father. He's not a dad. Is he? Confused, Shouto turns to look to Touya-nii. Usually, whenever anything is confusing him, Touya-nii has the answers. Most of the time, he's even willing to share them.

"Dads are what normal families have. Not fathers."

"Touya." Mummy's stern huff echoes through the room but Shouto's much to busy focusing on Touya-nii's words. He knows what normal families are like, has seen them on TV whenever Father was out the house. He had no idea Father could maybe transform into a dad. He'd like to see that; dads play with their children, he'd seen one where a dad was playing football with his kids. A dad looks like it could be fun.

"Is he changing? How long is it going to take?" Grabbing hold of Mummy's face (something he'd never have dared to do with Father around), Shouto turns her head until she's looking at him. He keeps his hands on her cheeks, just in case Touya-nii tries getting her attention. He needs answers. "When Father becomes a dad, does that mean he won't make you cry anymore?" Shouto had only found that out recently, just before they got attacked. He remembers hearing Mummy's tears before Touya-nii had intercepted, herding his over to Fuyumi before he'd disappeared towards the sound. Shouto hadn't liked hearing it, not at all. But, if Father is going to become a dad… the dads on TV never upset the Mummies. This can only be a good thing.

"I…" Mummy pauses, her lips doing a strange twisty thing. Even with his hands on her cheeks., Shouto cannot stop her eyes from rolling over to look at Touya-nii. He's not sure what his big brother does but Mummy smiles, closing the distance between their faces to run the tips of their noses together. Shouto giggles, pulling back from the strange motion. That'd been funny, maybe he'll try that again some time. "I'm not sure how long it will take, little snowdrop. That he's trying is very good indeed."

"Can I see Father?" Shouto wants to see this for his own eyes, wants to see if Father's become a dad already. How long does it take to happen? Will he come home with a football, ready to play with them?

"Not yet, Shouto-bō, not yet. But maybe we can make him a card?" Shouto nods happily, wiggling free of Mummy's grip in an effort to get put down. He scampers for the door, eager to go and get his pencils and some paper. Though he does look back in time to see Mummy whisper something to Touya; they both look serious.

Shouto has no idea why.

.

* * *

 **And, in the face of term time, writing production once again slows. Still alive, happy December. Hope you're all out there enjoying the festive season (and the time off work that comes with it for most later on).**

 **Love,**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**X**

.

"Hello." Hands clasped before her stomach with a pair of bag handles carefully woven between her fingers, Rei meets Enji's blue eyes without hesitation. It's been a week since her awkward conversation, a week since she learnt that Shouto hadn't really been exposed to the… festering darkness of whatever situation the Todoroki household had lodged. Until she'd woken up with zero memories that belonged to this life and four little dependents, that is. Speaking of dependents…

Both Rei and Enji pause, turning to look back towards the waiting room on this floor of Endeavor's office building. Touya is reclined on one of the couches, his eyes searing in their direction but legs folded in a way that makes it abundantly clear he has no intention of moving. Of getting up to greet Enji. Her eldest is doing a stellar job of pretending he's not even there. When he's not glaring at the man, that is.

"Touya says he'll wait… He refused to let me come on my own." Enji's cheek twitches but he says nothing. Even gives Touya a brisk, shallow nod. She can all but feel her son bristle like an offended feline. Offering her eldest a soft smile, Rei glides into Enji's office, the door wide open. Enji follows in her footsteps a moment later, allowing Rei the time to settle herself on the sofa.

"Are you well?" It's the first thing to come from Enji's mouth, a question on her wellbeing. Rei considers it slowly, allowing the bag she'd been carrying to come to rest by her feet, lying in a bundled lump between her ankles.

"Yes, thank you. I have something for you, from Shouto." Digging through the thin plastic, Rei retrieves her darling youngest's homemade card from its depth, presenting it to Enji with a flourish. Shouto's no artist, not like Fuyumi, but he's tried his hardest. That much is clear from the way the colouring only edges slightly out of the lines. Rei had watched him create it; Shouto had put the maximum amount of effort he could into that card. So, if you squint a little (and tilt it thirty degrees to the right), it's possible to recognise the figure on the front is supposed to be Enji. Flame beard-moustache combo and all.

"This is… me." Enji mutter quietly, inspecting the picture Enji and the football he possesses with shrewd eyes.

"I can't remember what things were like before. Touya has told me some things and, obviously, there's little things the younger ones let slip through their actions. Were we really that bad of a match?"

"…I allowed my ambitions to blind me to the state our family had fallen into… through my own actions." Enji's shoulders drop ever so slightly, his eyes still fixed on the card within his hands. He flips it open, inspecting the message inside. Rei has no idea what Shouto wrote inside (if anything at all, it might be another picture for all she knows) but, whatever it is, Enji seems to find it satisfying. He places the card very carefully down upon his desk, propped open so that it might remain standing.

"…so, what's going to happen now?" Rei asks quietly, hands resting upon her thighs, the dark denim of her jeans stark against the pale skin of her hands.

"I become a hero… a father my children can be proud of." And Rei smiles.

.

* * *

.

Lifting his head from where it'd been resting atop his chest, Touya peers down the corridor into the open doorway of his Father's office. There's a low hum of traditional music, the source the room that resides as his current focus. He can make out Father standing before mother, lifting one hand in her direction and Touya tenses, feet dropping to the floor as he prepares for a quick dash. Flames lick up beneath his skin but he pushes them back, pushes them down. Suffocates them. No need to cause a scene here. Especially when the receptionist on this floor is still watching and would undoubtedly be eager to spread gossip on Endeavor's failure of an eldest child. He does not need his skin burning, peeling, right now. But if that bastard so much as lays a hand on his mum, all bets are off. He's just sprang up from his seat when Touya realises Father's stopped moving, his hand held out in invitation to Mum. It's a steel trap, it's got to be, but Mum still places her too small, too delicate hand in his anyway. Slowly, cautiously, Touya sits himself back down, relaxes into the seat as Mum steps that little bit closer to Father. They're… they're dancing again. It's a slow movement, a handful of footsteps and they're not really getting anyway. Just lazily swaying back and forth. Mum knows the truth now, Mum knows everything that was happening. So… she can only be dancing with Father if she's happy with him, right? He must be making some kind of progress because Mum post-head-injury takes no shit. Touya knows that, he's well aware of it (and he knows with complete certainty that Mum would be very unhappy to hear him swearing which is why he doesn't say it aloud). Folding his arms tight across his chest, Touya leans back into the plus of the couch, watching through half-lidden eyes as Father and Mum continue to dance. It remains that way for two songs, the two of them just dancing, Mum looking at Father as if she's trying to… find something. Probably find something about him to love. Touya's not sure it's there, this fabled lovable quality. For the sake of Mum, for Shouto ("Touya-nii, show me how to write can't?"), he hopes he's wrong. It'd make life a hell of a lot easier. Then again, life would've been a hell of a lot easier if Father'd just got his head out of his ass sooner. Or not had his head up his own ass at all.

"It's nice of your mother to come and visit Endeavor-sama," the receptionist, whose name Touya has never cared to learn, murmurs. There's a shallow, idealist smile to her lips and Touya supresses his growl into a stern frown.

"He's bloody lucky, is what he is," Touya grunts, eyes finding Shouto's home-made card. It's now propped up on Father's desk, the abysmal drawing facing out the office door. Shouto's the only one out of them that hasn't been truly exposed to how goal-oriented Todoroki Enji is… can be. That's the only reason Father's gotten an oh-so-sweet little message of 'I can't wait to have a dad' in that card. Touya snorts at the wording as he recalls it, lips tilting up in a smirk despite his intentions. While he wouldn't be surprised if Father lets them down again… a small part of Touya hopes not. If only so his innocent little brother's hopes won't get crushed.

His eyes drift back over to the two adults, watching Father gently twirl Mum in a shallow circle before stopping. Mum smiles at him, says something that stretches Father's lips into a straight line, like he can't decide between a frown or a smile. More words are exchanged and, whatever is said, at least puts a smile on Mum's face.

If anything, at least he's treating Mum better. Maybe there is hope, after all.

.

 **XI**

.

"Taekwondo, huh?"

"A near whole family activity," Mum confirms, hands planted on her hips, Shouto half-balanced at her waist between one arm and her ribs. They're all in gym kit, brand new and near matching in different shades of blue/

Fuyumi hasn't missed the fact they're a tone of blue similar to Father's suit. Almost like Mum's leaving a foot in the door, an opening for him to someday come and fill. Someday when he's a… dad. It's still a majorly weird thought.

"Can we trust this instructor?" Touya growls, folding his weedy arms across his chest. Well, she's being unfair now. Touya's not as weedy, as noodly, as before. He's still shorter than Natsuo though. He's also clad in the most vibrant shade of blue that Fuyumi has ever expected to see him in. Ever. The tank is the same shade as his flames, scorching sapphire. Fuyumi herself has the darkest colour, a blue so dark it borders on black. It's even darker than Father's hero gear. She loves it.

She also doesn't miss how Mum is the second lightest in a shade of powdered blue that mingles well beside the icy paleness of Shouto's tank and shorts. They probably look ridiculous. The father-daughter duo that are leaving the dojo are staring. Touya meets their gaze fearlessly and Fuyumi smiles at the two, hoping her doe-soft eyes make up for the challenge in her elder brother's baby-blues.

"I had Enji check the place out before I signed us all up," Mum explains, bending to place Shouto on the floor. He clings to the fabric of her leggings, the most adorable pout on his face and Fuyumi all but melts. She's been toying with the idea of being a teacher (not a tutor, but an actual teacher) and the more she watches her cute-as-a-button baby brother, the more her ideal future grows. Yes, working as a teacher seems like the perfect opportunity for her. "All the employees are clean and the owner is even a former pro. Highly recommended." Fuyumi hums, lips pursed as she steps up next to Shouto and captures his pudgy, five-year-old hand in hers.

"I guess I can give it a go then."

.

She's so glad she gave it a go. It's been three months now and Fuyumi loves it. Loves the control she's developing over her body, loves the way her muscles sing and dance as she twists and turns. She can flip Natsuo now. The first time she'd done it, the shriek her little brother had come out with had been hilarious. She'd almost died laughing. Shouto had cheered her on from the side-lines, too small to truly be sparring with his siblings. Instead, the instructor spent most of the time walking the youngest Todoroki through the correct forms. Fuyumi and Natsuo were partners, and so were Mum and Touya. Really, it should have been Mum and Natsuo, given that he's the tallest Todoroki. But… he's only the tallest by an inch now. In the last few weeks, Touya seems to have shot up a bit, all out of nowhere. Mum had muttered something about hospital visits and finally seeing results, but when Fuyumi had asked her older brother, Touya had shut down like a bank under threat of theft. She wants to know more, Touya had not been well for a while, but… well, Fuyumi can't forcibly pry it from the mouth of her only elder sibling. She can keep kicking his ass at taekwondo until he coughs it up though.

Touya hits the mat, a bruise already beginning to darken his cheekbone and Fuyumi brings her leg back down to a ready position. He stays down though, laid flat out on his back and limbs sprawled across the floor. Somewhere in the house, Mum is undoubtedly entertaining both Natsuo and Shouto as she cooks, the faint echo of giggles keeps drifting up the hallway to them.

"It's a quirk."

"What?" Touya tilts his head to a side, just enough so that their eyes can meet. His face holds no expression, as if he's got no attachment to what he's saying. As if he's repeating facts that have nothing to do with him in the slightest.

"Mum's been doing research. She found a guy in England last month; his quirk is that he can change organs on a molecular level. He's taken some of Dad's DNA and is working it into mine. The fire-resistance part, that is. They did my organs last month; it's why I was out for a week. Now I won't cook my lungs whenever I turn my quirk on for too long." Touya smiles, bitterly warm. A single blue flame bursts to life in his hand- no, over his fingertip. It hovers there for a moment, flickering back and forth. It doesn't take too long before Fuyumi can begin to smell burning. Smell Touya's flesh burning.

"But… that's good, isn't it?" she whispers, worrying a sweatband back and forth between her hands. Touya watches her for a moment, still utterly objectional with his expression. Still looking as if this is all happening to another person. As if it's not him that's experiencing what sounds like relatively new surgery. She doesn't like it, doesn't like how Touya's dealing with this. Fuyumi drops down to sit next to him, forcing Touya to suffocate his flame when she grabs hold of his hand. His fingertip is red.

"Mum's skin is paler than Father's, you know? Once I get this surgery done, I keep thinking I'm just gonna look more like him. I've already got his quirk, his hair, his eyes. Mum's pale skin… that's the only thing I got from her." It's what he's going to lose as these operations continue. Fuyumi wraps her fingers around Touya's, doing her utmost best to ignore how his hand is so much warm, so much more callous than her own.

"Have you spoke to Mum about it?"

"No. I can't. She just wants me to get better, wants me healthy. How the hell can I tell her something like that?" Touya groans, arm over his eyes and throat working as he swallows. Fuyumi has no idea what to say, no idea what to do. She's good at looking after Shouto, at looking after Natsuo. They are her younger brothers, it's her job as the older sibling to watch out for them. But… Touya's not younger than her. Touya's not as inexperienced as her. Touya… there's no way she can help him with this, she doesn't even know where to start. All Fuyumi can do is turn her gaze to the door, to the entryway to the dojo where Mum is silently waiting outside. She can see the tears that're sparkling in her eyes, the hand pressed to her mouth.

She hopes Mum knows how to solve this.

.

 **XII**

.

It's two days before she finds the opportune moment to corner her eldest.

They've just come back from another doctor's appointment, agreeing that it'd be wise to begin flameproofing Touya's nerves next. Only, this time, Rei had noticed her eldest's solemn mood, how he'd barely had any input. It felt like her heart was in a vice. How was she supposed to help her darling boy remain healthy if it came at the cost of his happiness? She's not even sure where this idea of being Enji's clone has come from. Even if the grips of puberty, it's clear the jawline rising from the baby fat of his cheeks is more Rei's influence than Enji, more delicate than the strong square jawline she's come to associate with her husband. A few more years and her eldest is going to be leaving a trail of broken hearts behind him. She'll have to make sure he knows how to handle it. Once he's figured out his quirk and the fact he isn't Enji 2.0.

Rei stresses, eyeing Touya until her eldest rolls those lazy eyes and goes back to languishing over the sofa, a cold compress pressed to his forehead. The smoke that keeps emitting from his skin whenever he overuses his quirk is worrying. Especially when Touya had proclaimed he could do so much more with it until a few months ago. Maybe it's a puberty thing, something chemical in his body that's upsetting it all? Fire is, after all, a chemical reaction, that could be something. She'll bring it up tomorrow; they might be medical professionals, but Rei wants to make sure they are reviewing every possible angle. Especially when they're doing some as life altering as gene therapy, or whatever it is. The doctors were confident in the potential of this new approach and, given Touya's organs had yet to start cooking themselves, it seemed to be working well. So far.

"Touya, darling?" Peeling one eye open, Touya sends her a look that speaks volumes; a tentative 'yes, mother, what is this bad news you wish to speak to me of?'. The cold compress half slips down his face, covering the closed eye and her eldest all but sinks into the sensation, his shoulders all but melting into the sofa. Rei's heart aches at the sight.

"Mum!" Touya splutters as she forcibly lifts him up, plopping herself down on the sofa so that he's half sprawled across her lap, his head on her thigh so she can run her hands through his hair. Her darling little teenager who's been gifted a bad hand in life. That Rei can deal with. Eni, for all his faults, has not hesitated to offer her full access to his accounts so that she can ensure their children are supported. Right now, Touya doesn't need any money. He needs her.

"You are not your father, Touya." Hey, he needs her love right now, not a mum that'll beat around the bush. He stiffens, shoulders tense and studiously avoids her gaze. Rei sweeps her hands through his hair anyway, fingers gliding through the silken red locks. It is such a pretty colour and it's almost devasting that he's come to associate it with Enji, that he dislikes a part of himself. She already knows he has such problems with his quirk, adding a beef over his appearance on top of that… Well, she can't change his eye-colour, cannot change how his face is formed or dictate the height he will one day stretch to. She cannot change the fact that genetics have dictated not a strand of her white hair will rest atop his head, unlike his siblings.

"Did Fuyumi-"

"Your sister didn't tell me anything. I overheard; I came to tell you dinner was ready and I heard it. You're such a beautiful boy Touya, never doubt that. But, if you do have problems… I have a solution." One blue eye opens up again, staring up. Some strange mix of suspicion and curiosity.

"What solution?"

.

Head half-hanging over the side of the bath, Touya remains perfectly still as she runs a gloved hand through his hair. Her fingers rub, twisting this way and that, just to ensure that the entirety of his hair is covered. The bottle of hair dye lies empty, deposited in the sink for the moment. It'll be another hour before her other children are finished with their tutors, another hour of uninterrupted mother and son time.

"Twenty minutes now," Rei muses, leaning back to sit on the heels of her feet, the plastic of her gloves creating an awful crinkling sound when she flexes her fingers. Slowly, Touya peels himself away from the bath edge, looking utterly ridiculous. Dye is smeared throughout his hair and across the top of his forehead. In contrast to the dark smudges, his smile is bright.

"And then it'll not come out?"

"You'll need to keep on top of your roots, dyeing it again. It depends on how quickly your hair grows. But yes, the dye won't come out unless you get a product for it." Touya grins, plucking up Fuyumi's compact mirror and flicking it open. He leaves black fingerprints around the brim that his sister will surely kick his ass for, but in the face of that smile, Rei honestly couldn't care.

"Why not white dye?"

"Because that's bleach and more damaging on your hair than what black dye would be. You'll need to use some special shampoo if you want your hair to stay in the excellent condition it was in before, but other than that, it won't be much more hassle." Touya hums, slouching down to rest his back against the bath's side, legs stretched out before him. One ankle knocks against her and Rei smiles, despite the sweat accumulating on her palms. "Do you not like it?"

"No. Change, change is good." Touya huffs, still peering into the compact mirror. It's useless to do so, his hair is matted flat to his head with the dye; it's the tamest she's ever seen his usually wild mane. Even when they went swimming that one time, his hair and flicked out in parts. Now though, with the heaviness of the dye, it lays smooth. "Just…."

"You weren't expecting it?"

"No."

Rei sighs, reaching out to take hold of her eldest's chin between a gentle forefinger and thumb, "it is your face, Touya. Your body. Whatever you want to do to it, within reason, I will support you."

"Within reason?" he questions, a cheeky grin touching at his lips and Rei releases her grip. She's left dark prints on his jawline. Oops.

"No tattoos until you're of age." He laughs and, in that moment, all is right with the world.

.

They wash the dye off after the time has gone by, towel-drying Touya's hair (and permanently staining two of the towels beyond hope of saving them). Still, it's utterly worth it to see Touya staring in a mirror, blue eyes wide as he toys with his now dark hair. There's wonder in his expression, the kind that has Rei's heart soaring with joy. It's only now she realises she's not seen Touya ever look at himself and like what he sees. Because, with that hair, the features he doesn't share with Enji now stand out. The slim line of his jaw, the delicate bridge of his nose, the lazy slant to his eyes. From the pleased smile, Touya can see it too.

"It suits you," Rei chirps, gathering up the ruined towels and bundling them up. She keeps the gloves on, will continue to do so until all of this is thrown in the trash.

"It does," Touya agrees, angling his head to and fro, still styling his freshly dyed mop like he has nothing better to do with his life. "What about a piercing?"

At that, Rei laughs, taking a moment to ruffle Touya's newly black hair. He tries ducking her hand, but not very hard. It still feels the same as it did early, only her hand looks so much paler as it half-submerges into the tresses.

"Maybe in a year or two."

.

* * *

 **I'm going to try and get at least one more chapter of this updated before Christmas. We'll see how that goes.**

 **Love,**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**XIII**

Rei is standing by the door. Rei is standing by the door with a gym bag tucked under her arm and little Shouto by her side. His youngest is six years old and is staring at him with large, mismatched eyes. His whole face is filled with wonder. Gods, it has been far too long since he has seen his children and, yet, his first instinct is to ask Shouto how his quirk is coming along. He can recognise it now, this dangerous train of thought he's about to board. He consciously steps off. All of this hard work will not go to waste.

"Shouto," Enji falters, unsure. A year ago, he'd have given a reserved greeting. Shouto is six years old. He's seen how other parents react to their children while he's been out on patrol. He's seen the clear love between them. That's what he's going to have, that's the kind of parent he's going to be. He's already a hero his children can be proud of (the number two hero, it doesn't get much better than that). What matters now is becoming a dad they can be proud of.

It is with determination brewing in his chest that Enji drops into a crouch, arms open and looking expectingly at Shouto. Shouto, who looks like a rabbit caught in a set of headlights. It stings, the uncertainty that his youngest showcases. But, with a gentle push between the shoulder blades from Rei, Shouto tentatively takes a step forwards. A second later, he's launching himself into Enji's arms, his own skinny ones twisting around his shoulders.

"Are you a Dad now? The house has been funny with you gone, not bad but... you left a hole." Shouto pulls back, one grey eye and one blue eye boring into Enji's face. "Are... are you gonna play football with me now?" At least it's not the American game; traditional football is something that Enji recalls the rules of, even though it was a lifetime ago that he actually played it.

"Yes. We will play football once we get back to the house. Now, tell me how you have spent your time."

.

Shouto talks, he talks an awful lot and Enji has been utterly unaware his child could speak as much as he just has. It's astounding. But, he's managed to drain whatever energy had been keeping his going, nodding off on his shoulder and now light, little snores are fluttering across his chest. Rei is watching them, something warm in her gaze.

"I'm thinking about school instead of tutors. I'm even willing to compromise on a private school if you insist. But, connections with their peers can only help them. All of them." Rei folds her hands together, fingers intertwined and resting in her lap. She makes no move to reclaim the sleeping Shouto and Enji shifts, unaccustomed to the steady, warm weight that now occupies his lap. His son snorts unbecomingly in his sleep before proceeding to snuggle closer, right cheek pressing up against Enji's collarbone.

"You considered public school," Enji states, though the suspension of belief is hard to erase from his voice. Rei hums and tucks a strand of white hair, half of which is tied back in a lazy ponytail, behind her ear.

"As I said, socialising can only help, no matter what they go on to become... having friends is a big step towards working as a team and caring for other." Yes, he supposes there would be benefits to it. The tutors he hires can pour information into the brains of his children, but social skills? An understanding of how to interact with people of different backgrounds? No, his children have so very little of that, he can admit. However, public school? He's not sold on the concept.

"Have you been on a school tour?" Rei blinks, head tilting to a side. The small tail half her hair and been gathered into tumbles down over one shoulder as she hums.

"No. I didn't want to make a move until I had your opinion on things... we could go look around them together, maybe?"

"Yes. I won't allow our children's education to be substandard."

"Something we agree on then," Rei muses, clapping her hands together with a wide smile on her lips. "We could go see some schools together, private and public. We should drag the kids along too, they'll be the ones going to school, after all." she pauses here, soft eyes turning on Shouto. He's still curled up in Enji's lap, the wet patch that is slowly gathering on his shirt making it irritatingly clear the boy is drooling in his sleep. "Do you want me to take him?"

"I can carry him to the car," Enji huffs, sweeping his son up into his arms with the effortless grace years of saving civilians has built. "How soon can we begin looking at schools?"

"If we throw your name around? I'm assuming relatively quickly." Cooling her arm around his own, Rei smiles up at him. It's in that moment it hits him. He knows how to be a great hero, has spent months learning how to be a better fa-dad. A better dad. But... he doesn't have the slightest idea how to be a better husband.

* * *

"What is he doing here." Touya's muscles are tense, his whole body filled with fight or flight. Of course it'd been too good to be true, of course it had. But he'd gotten so used to it, so used to a house of him, Mum, Fuyumi, Natsuo and Shouto. It'd be perfect, life had been perfect. Until that bubble had popped. Until that bastard had dared to show his face again.

Fingers clenched tight around the wooden railings, Touya stares and stares hard. As if he could set him alight with his gaze alone.

"I'm not going to try changing your perceptions of him, Touya." Mum's hand comes down on his shoulder, offering a gentle squeeze. He almost relaxes into it. Almost. "However Enji goes about trying to rebuild your relationship is up to him. It's also up to you if you accept it. All I ask is that you allow your siblings to form their own opinions too. And, protect them, if needs be."

"Protect them," Touya repeats, a dark scowl to his face as he finally drags his gaze away, looking up at his mother. She hums, a sad little smile on her face.

"If it comes down to it, if you have to move to protect them... that's it. We're gone. I believe in second chances as long as the person is willing to change. I don't do anything more than that. Not if it put the four of you at risk." Mum's hand weaves through his hair, nails scratching lightly at his scalp. It's a pleasant motion, almost has Touya closing his eyes with a longing to sink into the sensation. But he doesn't. He keeps his eyes locked on the two below, occupying the inner gardens of their home. Shouto's the youngest among them, the one who will have the most trouble remembering what their old man was like. He'll be the one that needs the most protection. Touya's a big brother. It's his job to watch over him, to look out for the baby of their family.

If that means watching the father-son football game, then so be it.

.

 **XIV**

.

"Quite frankly, I want fuck all to do with you."

Arms folded, Touya glares at him from across the table, a small bead of ilk threatening to run from the corner of his mouth. The bowl of cereal bathed in milk is a stark contrast to the protein shake that makes up Enji's own breakfast. At this moment, they're both alone in the kitchen, Natsuo occupying one bathroom, Rei and Shouto in another and Fuyumi busy picking out her best outfit.

After a short discussion with all four children, they had agreed to take the day off to visit a selection of school. Just as Rei had predicted, throwing his name around had secured them with an offer to look around a variety of schools, each one desperate to get the Number Two Hero's children within their ranks. Only, Touya no longer looks like his child. With his shock of dyed black hair, permanent scowl and shockingly pale skin, the boy is practically a stranger. Even his eyes seem as if they burn with ice instead of fire. He had known his eldest would be the hardest to win over, but Enji can now see that he has underestimated him, can see just how damaged Touya has ended up because of Enji's own actions. An apology is not going to fix this, it won't be a quick recovery for them. This will require hard work and determination. Luckily, those are things Enji has in abundance. Respecting Touya's boundaries will be the hardest thing, acknowledging that this will take time another issue. But he will do it. It is what his children deserve from him.

"And I will respect that. But I hope you will consider giving me the chance to prove I can be a father you can be proud of." Touya's face scrunches up, a look of sheer disgust flashing across his features. Whatever response he'd been formulating dies a swift death as Rei sweeps into the room, carrying a squeaky clean Shouto. His youngest takes one look at Touya and instantly reaches for him. That hurts, but he's been gone for near a year. Touya has become the man of the house, despite his appointment with the doctors. He's stepped up to look after the rest of his younger siblings; he has the makings of a good hero. As soon as his genetic weakness is fixed, as soon as his compromised body is corrected… well, Enji looks forwards to what he will become.

"Ready to look around some schools, kid?"

"Uh-huh! I wanna make some friends!" Shouto presses both of his hands to Touya's cheeks, rubbing them back and forth in such a way it forces his elder brother's lips to smush comically together. Enji hides his smile by turning to look for Rei. She's pulling two bowls of fruit from the fridge; one perfectly arranged so it appears to be a lion's main (albeit, far more colourful than the actual beast), while her own is thrown simply together. The lion-bowl is placed by Touya's cereal and Shouto happily digs in. The way Touya moves around the young boy that now currently occupies his lap indicates this is a well-practiced, everyday occurrence.

"Hurry up, children! We're leaving in ten minutes and if you're not here, we'll pick for you!" There're two muffled yells of denial, two promises that they'll be down quickly and Rei slides into a chair beside him. "Protein shakes aren't a substantial breakfast, dear husband." The bowl of fruit is placed before him, Rei digging into her own bowl of cereal which is more drizzled in milk, as apposed to the drowned mess that Touya is still slurping through.

"…Thank you."

.

* * *

.

"So, there's loads of sport teams?" Natsuo peers up at the woman that's showing them around this school (the fourth one today) and waits for an answer. Father's been silent throughout the entire tour, allowing Mum to ask all the questions, to direct the conversation while he just… exists. Touya-nii keeps eyeing him suspiciously and Natsuo's not quite sure what to make of it. He knows Touya doesn't like father, but… Father's changed. Natsuo's cautious, but he's also hopeful. Shouto's tired as can be, but instead of forcing him to continue walking, Father had picked him up and carried him. Is still carrying him, even.

"Oh, yes. We have teams for all of the traditional sports, as well as tropes for dance and parkour."

"Parkour?" Natsuo perks up, stepping a little closer to the woman to listen. Fuyumi, being the best older sister in the world, moves out of the way so that he can show Harushi-sensei that she has his full attention.

"Yes, even for those who aren't aspiring heroes, it's a good skill to have, given how often battles spill outside of what a standard hero can contain." Here, she flicks a quick glance to Father, her cheeks bleeding red and Natsuo nods. She's embarrassed, probably because she's talking about heroes and Father's the Number Two Hero. Out of all of them, he's gonna know the most about heroes. It's just that, Natsuo isn't sure he wants to be a hero. It's not the be all and end all of jobs in the world. In fact… Flicking a quick glance to Touya-nii, Natsuo squares his jaw. In fact, being a doctor is probably the best job in the world. Heroes can save lives from danger, but they cannot save lives when a person is wounded. A doctor can. A doctor can do even more than that; they can save people from their own bodies. They can help people; their job isn't to beat the villain, it's always to help someone. To save them. Jaw squaring, Natsuo nods to himself.

"What about your science lessons?"

"Our… science lessons?"

"Yeah. I wanna be a doctor and I gotta be good at science for that. So, I need to go to a school that's good at science." He can feel the surprise pooling off everybody but Shouto. Mum's shock eases into a warm smile, like the sun, while Father looks like he's thinking hard. Touya and Fuyumi… well, they're just staring hard.

"Oh-, of course. In that case, I'll show you the science department next then."

.

After three more schools, they return home. Natsuo's unashamed to admit he dropped off in the car on the ride home. He lingers somewhere between being awake and being asleep. Enough to recognise he's being carried by someone who is far warmer than Mum, who's arms are larger and stronger, who doesn't tremble under his weight.

"They all liked a different school."

"Well, we'll just have to enrol them in different schools. We can always pull them out and put them in the same one if it doesn't work. There's no harm in trying it."

"I suppose so." The deep rumble of Father's chest presses against his cheek and Natsuo sinks into the sensation. It's. it's not bad. Maybe he has changed after all.

.

 **XV**

.

Slouching into the desk, Touya peers up at the clock from beneath the thick layers of his now black hair. While he's not quite sure why Mum thought school would be a good idea, he'd been more than happy to go along for the ride with it. Father couldn't randomly pull him from lessons when he's in an actual school. It doesn't matter that no one has really approached him with the intention of making friends, he doesn't care about that. While heroes are revered in society, not many people bother to search out their civilian names. Certainly not in this school that has never had a hero candidate get accepted into one of the top hero schools. In fact, this place is almost notorious for producing regular joes. It's why Touya had asked to be enrolled. It'll give him time away from the madness of his family (because as much as he loves his younger siblings, as much as he adores Mum), it's nice to get a feel for how 'normal' should be.

Fidgeting with the single piercing in his upper ear (Mum had agreed after a single request and a few weeks of the puppy eyes), Touya eyes the English homework on the board and scribbles it down into his notebook, already working out when he can get it all sorted. Shouldn't be too difficult; he can fit it in between taekwondo and quirk training with Mum.

.

Of course, his peace can't last.

He's sitting up to one of the smaller tables in the cafeteria, steadily making his way through the bento Mum had packed for him (after having downed his prescribed pills because, as infuriated as he is about the whole procedure, he doesn't want to undo the hard work the doctor has already put into him), when a presence sits themselves down beside him.

Freezing, Touya tilts his head to a side, eyeing the girl. She's young, younger than him, perhaps a first year here. Dark blue hair cut short and light blue skin; some kind of mutation quirk perhaps? What matters is that she's come to sit with him despite the intense 'don't bother me' vibe he's been cultivating. That's irritating. He'll have to try harder.

"Hi! You're Todoroki Touya, right?" She smiles, all flashing white teeth and bubbly personality.

Perhaps this school had been a mistake after all.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Ah! I'm Kaoruko Awata. Can we be friends?"

"Tch. I'm older than you by, what? Two years?" She huffs, cheeks turning a funny plum colour as the blood rushes to them. It has Touya smirking, taking a bite of the tomato he'd picked up before she made herself known. There are a few people looking over at them, kids from the girl's class no doubt. One or two from his own class are glancing over too; Touya meets their eyes with a levelled stare, keeping it on them until they back off. No one knows who he is here; all they see if a teen with dyed black hair, half-lidded blue eyes and the beginning of a piercing collection (if he gets his own way about it). Far from the usual image of a hero's child.

"Yeah, but you're a Todoroki. You must have some idea how I can become a hero, even if I'm at a middle school like this." She leans in close, eyes wide and wet and nope. That's enough for him.

"Nope. Hard pass." Slipping out from the table, Touya snatches up his bento and stalks right out of cafeteria. It might not be summer, but he's got a fire quirk and prefers the cold anyway.

.

* * *

.

"So, how was school?"

Touya's slouched back in his seat, arms folded and a mutinous scowl on his face. Normally, Rei wouldn't prod. But this is the fifth time he's come out of school with this expression. It's only been a week. Shouto's sitting in the back too, occupying the left-hand seat in his booster. In the face of Touya's stormy disposition, he's hesitating over the half-eaten chocolate bar in his hands. His tiny lips are pressed together, wobbling slightly, before he finally comes to a decision. With more willpower than she'd have expected from her youngest, he holds out the half-finished treat towards his elder brother. Because chocolate makes Shouto happy and he wants Touya to be happy and oh, Rei wishes she had a camera right now.

"I don't want-"

"Don't you dare turn Shouto down when he's trying to make you happy, Touya." Her eldest huffs but accepts the chocolate bar, offering Shouto a quiet thanks. A low snap echoes through the car as he halves it, offering the slightly bigger piece back to her youngest. The squeal of joy warms her soul and Rei just basks in it for a moment. Then, she turns her attention back to the current issue. "Touya."

"It's nothing. I'm being fuc- stupid. There's just this girl that's recognised who my surname comes from and now she's under this ridiculous impression that I can fast-track her to becoming a hero." The words are spat out, Touya's arms crossing over his chest once he's finished and he, impossibly, slumps further into the back seat. They're pulling up outside of Fuyumi and Natsuo's school now, though they won't be out for another ten minutes. They're both at afterschool clubs (Fuyumi's in art club and Natsuo's at football) which has worked out quite nicely for Rei. The school run consists of picking Shouto up, then Touya, then waiting around for ten to fifteen minutes for her middle two. Which means she has the perfect opportunity to kill the engine, peel herself from the front seat after unbuckling the seat belt, and climb into the back. The middle-seat is small, thin and not as comfortable as the others (she feels a bit bad for whichever child ends up in it, but all of them except Shouto rotate between the front seat so at least it's fair), but it puts her smack between her two terrors. Shouto hums, yawning as he snuggles down into his seat, one hand reaching out to grab at her sleeve. Rei closes one hand over his own, the chill of his right hand barely registering with her own.

"Touya. Do you want to move schools?" Her eldest huffs, twisting his shoulders to angle towards her even as he looks away.

"No. Don't wanna give her the impression she's scared me off."

"Well, maybe the best thing to do would be to explain. I'm not saying give her the nitty gritty, just the basics. That you're going to that school to get away from association with your father, that you're offended she considers you a fast track to becoming a hero, and that you just want to be known as Touya." Now he finally looks at her, blue eyes rimmed red slightly, face scowling. The single silver piercing in his ear glints in the light and Rei can't quite find the regret that should probably come with spotting the evidence of her weak-willed self. It made Touya happy, she doesn't regret giving in on that front.

"And if she doesn't accept that?"

"Then ghost her. If this girl wants to be Todoroki Touya's friend, but not Touya's, then she's clearly not the kind of friend you need. And, if it gets bad, then we'll just move you to another school and you can try again. There's always something that can be done if you're unhappy, darling. As long as you keep me informed, then I'll always fight your corner. Got that?"

Touya buries his head into her neck, one arm reaching across to wrap around her waist and Rei sighs, wiggling one of her own around Touya's back. He's still a little too skinny and even if she knows it's because of his metabolism working overtime, it's still something that plays on her mind. All her other children are happy at their schools but (though she'll never say it aloud), Touya is her most sensitive child. No matter the front he puts up, he's the most mature. That also means he catches all the hidden undertones, all the implications of every action taken against him. It's fine, she can deal with that. She's his mother which means she'll always have his best interest at heart. Checking in with him all the time is no issue in the slightest. He is one of her little ducklings, after all.

.

Fifteen minutes later, Rei is startled awake, knocking her head against Touya's when Natsuo has to slap on the car window to wake them up. Shouto laughs at them. Of course, he does; all peals of delighted laughter. It's one of the best sounds she's heard all week.

* * *

 **So much for that chapter before Christmas, but in my defense, XIV was difficult.**

 **Love,**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**XVI**

.

It is a Friday when Rei opens the door at ten-thirty to find Enji standing on the step. He's dressed up, not quite in a suit but certainly looking smarter than usual. There's no flaming beard; he's not in hero mode so, clearly, he's not going for a press conference despite the smart appearance. He usually turns up to those in his hero outfit anyway. Plus, the bouquet of flowers gives away that this isn't a usual run of the mill thing.

"Good morning? Haven't you just finished an all-nighter?" She clearly recalls Enji getting called out the previous night, right after they'd had dinner. Something about a villain with a weakness to fire who they'd needed to track and quickly take care of before he became a danger to the public. Touya had watched him leave with Shouto in his arms, both with a smile on their faces for two utterly different reasons. Shouto had spent the night dashing around the house, pretending he was Endeavor, complete with mini-bursts of fire as he took down the evildoer (Natsuo). Touya had spent the night curled up in the big armchair in the Western style living room, a book in hand and contentedness rolling off him in waves. She still has no idea what to do with her eldest's rocky relationship with his father. To be honest, she doesn't think it's her place to do anything at all. Touya is his own person; it is up to him if he wishes to forgive Enji and accept that he's changing. On the flip side, it is also up to Enji to prove that he has changed. It is not her place to stick her nose in. not unless it starts spilling over into the family dynamic.

"I booked a meal for the two of us, then a dancehall." The unspoken 'it's a date' hangs heavy in the air between them and Rei feels a little part of her inside melt. That's… sweet. However-

"You are shattered. I appreciate that you've taken note I like dancing, I'm seriously flattered, actually. But if we're going to go on a date, we're going to do it while you're at your best. What time is the dancehall for?"

"Half past two."

"Right. You go catch a few hours, I'll make a small picnic to take with us, and we'll do this properly." Nodding decisively, Rei takes a step back to allow Enji to pass her by. There are smudges of purple beneath his eyes, a bit of ash he's missed in his initial clean-up smudges by the underside of his jaw. He stops before her, one hand reaching for the underside of her chin before he freezes in place. His eyes are spectacularly blue, the kind of vivid that belongs on paintings of the open sky.

"Can I kiss you?" His fingers stretch out that little bit to brush at her jawline and Rei relaxes into the touch, exhaling slowly.

"Yeah. A kiss sounds good."

The brush of lips against her own isn't perfect. It isn't even wet, a clear sign of just how dehydrated her husband (and isn't that such a strange label, even now, a year and a bit on?) is. But, it is nice. Rei presses back slightly, fingers curling around Enji's wrist, thumb running against the steady pulse point there.

"Thank you for asking. Go and get some rest."

.

At quarter to three (they'd ended up running a bit behind because Rei hadn't been able to choose a dress, something Enji had spent the extra fifteen minutes grumbling over), they're in an otherwise empty dancehall with soft, slow music playing in the background. Rei has dropped the picnic basket by the door; they'd both scoffed down two sandwiches before they'd entered the building, but the rest can wait. Standing in the middle of the polished floor, Rei places her hands in Enji's as they slowly begin to rock back and forth.

"I hope you know, for all that I like dancing, I can't remember any formal training in it."

"That doesn't surprise me," Enji murmurs, reeling her in a little closer, until there's only a half-foot of distance between them. They sway gently side to side, slowly turning in a circle as Rei takes the time to look around. It is not a loud and grand place, but there is some charm to the building. It is unsuspecting, she supposes. The exact place hero-fans would never think to come looking. Huh.

"All those months away from home, I was working towards becoming a better father, one my children could be proud of. I never thought to consider how I could become a better husband."

"Well, I'm not exactly prime wife material, am I? I've spent the entire time you've been away focused on being an amazing mother. I don't even know when your birthday is." Isn't that strange? Despite the memory loss, it's been a year and she still barely knows anything about this husband she has. He's a pro-hero, he's working to improve himself. They were match made with the intentions of creating a perfect child when it comes to quirks. They've had Shouto who is, according to Enji, the pinnacle of quirk potential. The purpose of their marriage is served. Yet, they also have four children and while Rei doesn't believe having divorced parents can irreversibly screw a child over (if the parents actually take their children into consideration like they should), it would be a monumental upset right now. At this moment in time, they are remaining together for the children they have.

Is that all they could be? No, Rei doesn't think so, not when they haven't tried to be something more than two strangers raising their children. Enji is clearly on the same page, given he'd planned a whole date thing of them and even tried going through with the entire thing when he was so exhausted after an all-nighter shift. Is she touched by it? Yes. Does she find Enji physically attractive? It's hard not to.

"I want to try getting this right," Enji confesses, taking a step closer, until she can feel the heat the pools off his torso. "I owe all of you a better life." And well, with that progressive attitude, how can Rei deny trying?

.

 **XVII**

.

"Right, Todoroki meeting." Having clambered up onto the back of the sofa to plonk his ass down on the high ground, Natsuo grins down at Shouto.

Touya coughs, arms folded across his chest as he eyes his troublesome younger brother, waiting for him to get the hint.

"Not today, Touya-nii. This is serious." Natsuo nods to himself, watching the three of them. With Shouto and Fuyumi already sitting on the floor and looking up at him like Natsuo's some form of god about to impart the meaning of life, it's clear he's waiting solely on Touya to join them. With a low huff, the eldest Todoroki sibling begrudgingly lowers himself to the floorboards, ready at a moment's notice to put a stop to whatever madness is about to be exposed.

"Go on then, Natsuo."

"Mum is stressed."

"No shit," Touya grunts out and then immediately regrets it as Fuyumi gasps in horror and Shouto leans right into his lap with big, curious eyes.

"Touya-nii? What does shit mean?" Fuck.

"Forget that word, Shouto. It's not a good one and Mum will probably cry if you say it." The horror in his baby brother's eyes makes it clear that he'll never be repeating that word again, not with the chance it'll upset Mum. Natsuo's smug smirk is indication enough that the promise of Mum crying isn't going to be enough to stop the little demon from dropping Touya in it. Which means he's going to be blackmailed into going along with this madness. The only question is, will this madness be more of a disappointment to Mum than a swear would be?

"We're gonna do all the chores while Mum's out, so then she can relax like Mums should do!"

"And how do Mums relax, genius?" Ah, Fuyumi. As the second eldest, she's also the only one with any idea that things weren't quite right. That they still aren't quite right, even if they are slowly moving to be better. In the face of her rebuttal, Natsuo fumbles, his cheeks blooming pink under the pressure before he gathers himself admirably.

"That's up to Mum! She'll probably wanna watch movies with us though. If we can get everything cleaned up and organised for her, and we help put the groceries away when she comes in, then we'll have lots of time! Maybe a movie each!" Planting his closed fist into an open palm, Natsuo grins down at them and Touya takes a moment to appreciate the entirety of his brother. No matter how annoying Natsuo is, his heart is in the right place. Out of all of them, personality wise, it'd have been the middle child who had the greatest chance of becoming the number one hero. Alas, it is Shouto with the perfect quirk, Touya with the power (despite his fragile body). Natsuo will undoubtedly make an excellent doctor; the world would be lucky to have him working in such a capacity. As such-

"Shouto and I will take the living room and the hallway. You and Fuyumi tackle the kitchen together."

"Hey! Who do you think you are, coming in and taking charge?!"

"The eldest. I'll go along with your plan, but I'm also going to make sure we don't create even more of a mess for Mum."

And that's the end of it.

.

Two hours later, Touya is carefully sauntering through the hallway, Shouto tentatively balanced on his shoulders, one hand wrapped around his while his brother's other little hand is wielding a duster back and forth, sweeping up the dust that're hiding in the top corners way outta Mum's reach. Touya's got a duster in his own free hand, clearing up the photo frames and if his eyes linger longer than they should, well, they're good memories. Most were taken in the past year and a bit, all taken by Mum in an attempt to create physical evidence of everything she experiences. An after effect of the memory loss. But there's photos galore; Fuyumi exploring messy art in the summer, Natsuo sitting under a tree with a children's book on medicine, Shouto playing football with Touya. There's even one of their father, fast asleep at his desk with drool pooling on his forearm. Touya hasn't the slightest clue when it was taken, nor does he recall seeing it before today. But the unflattering image does bring a smile to his face.

"What are you doing?" Speaking of the bastard-

Touya hastily grabs for Shouto's other hand to steady him as the boy jolts in surprise, nearly losing his balance from where he's carefully perched on his shoulders. While Touya's not the tallest teen (though from the inch he's gained in the last month, that promises to change soon), it's still quite a fall for the almost seven-year-old.

"Cleaning. So, Mum can catch a break," Touya snaps out, not even othering to turn around to look at him. They're busy making Mum's life easier, not that this fool knows what that means. Mum is forever running around after them, always looking checking in on them; they are her whole world. Touya adores her, which is why he'd been happy enough to go along with Natsuo's plan to make Mum's life easier. Undoubtedly there will be parts they've cleaned wrong, things they've not done quite right. But it's the thought that counts and he knows for a fact what he and Shouto have done will help; it's why he'd volunteered to work with the youngest. Easier to direct that Natsuo or Fuyumi.

"If that is the case… I'll cook tea." At that, Touya does swing around to stare, mouth open somewhere between a silent gasp and a disgruntled grimace. Todoroki Enji… doesn't cook. He has never once made a family meal in all the time Touya can recall. So, what the actual fuck? He'd managed to catch Shouto's falling form on instinct alone which is good, because otherwise he'd have been in hot shit with Mum. He can stand disappointing a lot of adults, but Mum isn't one of them (probably the only one).

"Mum won't want any of your burnt as-" Touya abandons the word part way through, remembering the very impressionable child in his arms and how very hard Mum frowns whenever she hears people swearing in the streets. "Any of your burnt cooking."

"I've been taking lessons." What? Touya squints at Endeavor as the hero extinguishes his beard, the light that'd been casted on the end of the hallway disappearing with the flames.

"Dad's gonna cook?" Shouto whispers and his words are as suspicious as Touya feels They both watch the man walk into the kitchen, the sudden bang of pots and pans letting Touya know exactly what his other two siblings have been cleaning; the cupboards. Hopefully they've not broken anything.

"Seems like it."

"Oh… Is he any good at cooking, Touya-nii?"

"… I doubt it, squirt."

.

When Mum returns, the house is as clean as four children without adult supervision can get it and the meal is as edible as a first-time cook can make it. The edges are burnt a bit, the rice overdone.

Mum still smiles like all her birthdays have come at once anyway.

.

 **XVIII**

.

"Have you made a decision yet, darling?"

Flicking his gaze up to look at her, Touya hums distractedly, one hand playing with the pile of papers that're out before him. Rei understands that picking a high school can be difficult, but for Touya, this is an unexpected amount of indecision. Her eldest has always been set in his ways; the only thing he'll ever hesitated over is… Hero stuff. Looking again with a new perspective in mind, Rei spots the letter header on the top of one of the many sheets as Touya once again flicks through them. As he rifles through a fifth time, he slides the right one out, slipping it out from under Touya's hands before he can snatch it back. She was right. U.A.

"Touya… I thought you didn't want…" Rei trails off, utterly unsure how to continue that sentence. Touya had not failed to hide his opinion on heroes, had more than once whispered to her on a night how broken the system was, the ridiculous competition to become the number one hero and all the pressures that backed it when, in reality, all that mattered was saving people. Her darling eldest with his pure heart and heroic ideals, put off from the very idea of becoming a pro-hero by the current situation society boasts. And yet-

"I just, I could do it," Touya mutters, fists clenched and knuckles white. "I could do it so much better than any of them because most, they don't care! They don't care about helping people or saving others and just being good! To them, it's all a popularity contest, a way to reach for fame or money or to make some kind of statement on the world! They've all lost what's important, all but All Might! That's the reason he's still the Number One Hero! Because people can still recognise good when they're presented with it, can still realise what it is we should be aspiring to be!" Huffing, Touya collapses in on himself like he's lost all steam, out of fuel and his purpose complete. Rei watches him for a moment before he eyes turn back to the completed application form, flicking through it all. His answers match his little speech, his costume is well thought out, his strengths and points for development are broken down in explicit detail. He's clearly been giving this a lot of thought.

"Evasive manoeuvres? We can work on that; there's a month until the exam, right? That's plenty of time to get some training in."

"What?"

Grinning at her eldest, Rei shoots to her feet, grabbing hold of the application and pinning it to the fridge, right up where with Fuyumi and Shouto's art, Natsuo's 100% test score. "Your goal is set, Touya. You're not just going to pass that entrance exam. You're going to get top marks, you're going to be the best one there and be the good hero, the one who cares about saving people." Planting both hands down on her son's shoulders, Rei looks, really takes him in and tries not to tear up too much. He's freshly fifteen, on his last few months of middle school… god, she feels old. But no, this isn't about her age. This is about Touya and helping his achieve his dream. "Shouto can make ice targets, Fuyumi and Natsuo can do some research for the exams, your-"

"No. I don't want his help. I can get in and be my own hero without him." Well, it's Touya's decision.

"I can help with costume design and training then. I don't have hero training myself, but I am capable of analysing videos and creating a work-out routine. You've got five months left of gene therapy, nothing we can do about that. But everything else… You're going to ace this exam, Touya. Now let's go."

.

What follows is weeks of work; when Touya's not at school, he's studying or training. He'd not been out of shape before, but there's a difference between being sport ready and being hero ready. Upon hearing his brother is going to become a hero, Shouto throws himself into helping with all the eagerness of the seven-year-old child he is, creating target after target of ice, each one more impressive than the last. It's good training for the younger boy too. Fuyumi and Natsuo throw themselves into researching the test and, while the one Touya will sit is under lock and key until it is actually presented to the applicates, they do find records of the previous ones. A written and a physical, the latter testing the abilities of the wannabe heroes.

Rei, Rei creates all the meals, each one carefully calculated to make sure Touya can get the maximum benefit from them. She drills him on the core principles of a hero, drills him on all the general knowledge questions she can possibly think of.

They all keep it a secret from Enji at Touya's request. While it doesn't sit right with Rei… it's her eldest decision and she respects that. He needs his own life, his own control of information and that is fine with her. It'll come out eventually.

Fuyumi agrees to walk with Touya to UA, to wait outside with him and Rei organises a date with Enji to keep him distracted. They might be friends now, they might be dating (which is a very strange thought considering they're husband and wife), the kids come first. End of story.

It doesn't mean that the night before she's not on tent hooks right next to her eldest.

They're both sitting on his bed, staring out the window. Touya's outfit for the exam is chosen, folded up on the bedside cabinet, shoes by the door. His application form (part two, to be handed in on the day), sits on top of it, along with a 'good luck' charm that Fuyumi had made in her art club. It's sweet. They cannot possibly be more prepared than what they are.

"Don't you feel too old to have your Mum telling you bedtime stories?"

"Don't you feel old having a teenaged son who's wise enough to admit he needs time with his mum?" Rei laughs, smoothing her eldest wild black hair down. It's freshly dyed, a smudge still remaining near his hairline. She rubs her finger over it, smiling when Touya huffs and pushes her hand away. Shoulder to shoulder, Rei with her legs half-curled up to her chest and Touya with his stretched out, they continue to gaze at the night's sky.

"You're going to be fine tomorrow, Touya. We've come a long way these past two years. I know I can't remember everything from before and it looks like it's never coming back," it looks like these memories of another life, hazy and nonsensical as they are, are here to stay, "but I can say I am so, so proud of you." Pressing her lips to his head, Rei plant a kiss on her eldest, ignoring the awful chemical scent that still lingers as a result of the freshly done dye job.

He's a little rough around the edges, a little harsh when confronted, but he's Touya. He's her first born, he's been the one that made sense when nothing else did, he's hers to protect and nurture. She can't claim much credit, not when she only recalls two years. But, she gathered a lot of what had made Touya Touya, is himself. His own attitude and beliefs. She cannot imagine him any other way.

"Tch. Thanks."

"Don't give me that unaffected attitude, mister. I know you're touched by my words on the inside."

"Love you, Mum."

"Love you too, darling. Good luck tomorrow, even if we all know you'll smoke it."

.

* * *

.

"Hmmm." Tapping out the cigarette, Nezu considers the application in front of him, his other paw scrubbing at his chin. Of all the essays he's seen in his years as the principle of UA, this is one of the better ones from an incoming student. A quick look at the name and his eyes widen, nose twitching. Correction, given this particular child's connections, it is one of the best ones.

What to do about it though? Should he do anything at all, other than keep an eye?

Hmmm. Tricky indeed.

* * *

 **Much quicker update; enjoy lovelies!**

 **Love,**

 **Tsume**  
 **xxx**


End file.
